Dealing with Doubts

Apparently 2 out of every 3 Christians experience a season of spiritual doubts. Sometimes they come from a place of pain. A mother passed away or a friend got cancer and prayer didn’t seem to fix it. Other times, the doubts are more intellectual. I remember at Bible College my teacher told me that my view of salvation was wrong and that what I believed about the cross was not true. I felt like the carpet was pulled out from under me as these doubts started to invade every area of my faith. If I was wrong about that, what else had I misunderstood or got wrong. I found myself at 1am feeling totally lost and I so I got a piece of paper and at the top, I wrote the title: “things I still believe.” I realised that I believed lots of things simply because I had been told them. So, I began to examine the foundations and reconstruct my faith. I needed to be responsible for my own beliefs.

Over the last few years we have seen a number of people talk about doubts and deconstruction. Whether it is conversations over coffee or celebrity pastors on instagram, everywhere we go, there are people who are battling with doubts.

There are people on the other side too, who have never believed in God and are looking at the challenges and disappointment of our society and are doubting their assumptions about life, society and fulfilment.

So, if you find yourself wrestling with challenging questions and struggling to move forwards, I would want to say four things to you today:

It is ok to doubt

Jesus is not intimidated, put off, angry, frustrated and offended by your doubt. So often, we shut down people’s questions because we are worried about where they will lead. We are so concerned about people getting the right answers that we do not give them the freedom and vulnerability to discover them for themselves. Brian Zahnd laments that ‘In the end Christianity has suffered more casualties from faux faith than from honest doubt.’ We don’t need to shut down people’s honest questions. There is room for authentic doubts.

Doubts open the door for stronger faith

The purpose of doubt is not to deconstruct every area of your life. It is to have strong foundations to build your life upon. If something is wrong, then it is important to know. We never want to be people who are afraid of truth.

Talk to someone wise

Find someone to talk to about it. Others will have had the same questions as you and will be able to help you. When thinking about who to talk to, ask yourself who is wise and who is living a life that you respect. Don’t make life decisions based on someone’s opinion down the local pub or from the flood of ideas on google.

Bring your doubts to Jesus

Jesus already knows what you are thinking. You can pray about it and ask for help. When Thomas comes to Jesus after the resurrection and says, I can’t believe until I see with my own eyes the scars from the nails. Jesus doesn’t change the subject or tell him off. He says, I know that you needed to see this so that you could really believe. Its ok. And then Thomas had an encounter with Jesus more intimate, more personal, more real than anyone else in history. Jesus comes to him in exactly the way that he needed him to and Thomas immediately exclaims,"My Lord and My God!"

Perhaps as you read this, you are thinking ‘but Jesus IS my doubt. I don’t know if he is real.’ So, why not ask him. All through history people have claimed to have a real, living relationship with Jesus. If his existence is your doubt, then I would encourage you to pray these words and see what happens:

Jesus if you are real, if you are alive, reveal yourself to me. Let my questions lead me to an authentic relationship with you and a brand new tomorrow.

If you ever want anyone to talk to. We will always make time for you. Drop us a message.