Struggling with Doubt

Struggling with Doubt

And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"

— Matthew 11:2

 

It may surprise you to know that some of the greatest men and women of God whom we read about in the pages of Scripture have had their moments of doubt. Even the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, struggled with doubt.

In John's case, we might say that his doubt was due to confusion. He had a certain concept of what the Christ was supposed to do that Jesus simply was not doing. It is not that Jesus was failing to do what He was supposed to do; it was that John misunderstood what God was going to do.

An Element of Faith

An Element of Faith

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

— 2 Corinthians 1:8

 

A French proverb says, "He that knows nothing doubts nothing." Sometimes doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith. It means we are thinking something through. We are grappling with it. We are trying to process and understand it. And sometimes we have to go through the foyer of doubt to enter into the sanctuary of certainty.

Doubting is not necessarily sinful. Doubt is a matter of the mind, while unbelief is a matter of the will. Doubt says, "I don't get it. Help me understand this. Work with me through this." But unbelief says, "I get it. I don't like it. And I refuse to accept it."

The Joy of Evangelism

The Joy of Evangelism

It is my firm belief that God can use you to bring others into His kingdom. Why would God tell us to engage in this thing we call evangelism if it were not so?

Know this: the calling of God is the enabling of God.

I believe that God wants to use all of us to bring people to Himself. The book of Proverbs says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30). Scripture also tells us, "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like stars forever" (Daniel 12:3 NLT).

Meager Offerings

And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

— John 6:11

 

It was a meager offering when the young boy brought his lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus. Even Andrew said, "But what are they among so many?" (John 6:9). But Jesus took it, blessed it, and multiplied it—and thousands were impacted.

God can take your meager offering and do a lot with a little. A. W. Tozer said, "The world is waiting to hear an authentic voice, a voice from God—not an echo of what others are doing and saying, but an authentic voice." What the world needs to see today is an authentic Christian, not a perfect voice, not a flawless person (because there is no such individual), but authenticity. That is what people need to see.

Sons of Thunder

These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he named Peter), James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder"). . . .

— Mark 3:16–17

 

You don't get a nickname like Sons of Thunder for no reason. But that is how Jesus' disciples, James and John, were known. They were rough-hewn guys—amazing, colorful characters. They would not back away from a confrontation. In fact, they might even have looked forward to one. They could be very aggressive. And they also could be very insensitive.