Dealing with Doubt

Living an authentic faith means dealing with doubt head-on

“Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith.” —Frederick Buechner

Frederick Buechner has long been a favorite of mine, but I’ll admit that I didn’t really understand this quote until my grandmother passed away. She was the first grandmother I lost as an adult and the grief swept me into a season of deep sadness, and, at times, doubt.

Was what Jesus said true?

Is he who he says he is?

If you are with me in this season, why is this so hard?

We’re focused on authenticity during this season at The Bookery. Authenticity is about being genuine or real, and there’s no way to practice authentic faith if we don’t talk about doubt.

Here’s the deal about doubt: it isn’t always doubting your salvation or questioning the deep mysteries of the faith. Sometimes, it’s simply doubting that God can do what he says, that maybe, just maybe, his promises aren’t true. And there are seasons in our lives when it sometimes seems easier to lean into the doubts than to stand on the certainty of our faith.

So, let’s take a look at Luke 7:18-30. Think about what you know about John the Baptist. He’s this enigmatic figure, a man dressed in strange clothes who eats weird things and calls the people of Jesus’ day to repentance. At the time Luke 7 describes, John is in prison and his followers are coming to him and telling him all the things Jesus is doing. So what does the man who boldly proclaimed “Behold, the Lamb of God,” (John 1:29) when he saw Jesus walking toward him, the man who witnessed Jesus’ baptism, do?

He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus really is the Messiah.

Have you ever felt like that? Alone, trapped, wondering if the beliefs you’ve staked your life upon were the right ones? Desperate, scared, crying out like the man in Mark 9:24, “I believe, help my unbelief”?

If we’re being honest, we’ve all had those moments when doubt and fear have won out. But, as Buechner once said, “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.”

Look back to John 7. How did Jesus respond to John’s doubt? Did he mock or reprimand him? No. Jesus patiently answered John’s question with a fulfilled prophecy John would have understood. Taking his response from Isaiah 35:5-6, Jesus gently turned John’s eyes back to the truth. Calling out words John would have recognized as referring to the Messiah, Jesus lovingly showed John how he had fulfilled the prophecy.

Doubt, “dark nights of the soul,” and seasons where our faith feels weak will be part of all of our journeys of faith. If we’re going to live an authentic faith, we need to recognize that. But we also need to look to the lessons we can learn from Jesus’ interaction with John in Luke 7.

• God can handle our doubts and fears. We are human, and we are frail. But in the face of doubt, Jesus patiently and lovingly offers us assurance.
  

• When we are dealing with doubt, we need to run to the Savior. Sometimes, we act like doubt is something to push down or hide away, but Luke 7 shows us that we can bring our doubts, fears and anxiety to Jesus, and he will meet us there. Read Scripture; spend time in prayer seeking the Spirit’s direction and help; share your burden with godly believers who can walk beside you and help you carry it.
  

• You can’t ignore doubt. John could have sat there, wondering and worrying, but he didn’t. He reached out to Jesus. Doubt has to be dealt with. Much like ignoring an injury, it’s usually not going to just get better on its own. We have to work through our doubt, knowing that there is nothing our Lord cannot overcome. He defeated sin and death, so he can certainly work in the dark seasons of our souls. Trust him, knowing that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).