Dealing With Doubt

So in thinking about legends, old wives tales, and other folktales, it seems to me that these investigators of the rumor mill basically use two rules when it comes to their investigations: #1 they look for specific, identifiable occurrences to ensure that a rumor is true. #2 they show their sources and work so that you can do your own research. Both of those rules of Snopes.com will come back and be important a little later.

DEFINITIONS OF DOUBT

“Doubt” is one of those words that appear in our lives in many different areas:

In a court of law, criminal cases are tried in the adversarial system where the prosecution is required to prove their case and facts beyond a “reasonable doubt.” I am not so sure I know what “reasonable” means sometimes, but it makes sense that the prosecution must present the case so that a reasonable person would be convinced of the guilt or innocence of a suspected criminal before the sentence is handed down.

Philosophers would tell us that “doubt” is a paradox where the mind is caught between two different propositions and a person cannot make up their mind about either one.

Psychologists and family therapists would tell us that “doubt” is at times a put-down in disguise because doubt breaks the relationship and shows we do not trust the one we have doubted. It may also come because of unmet expectations.

Most of us gathered together today are believers in God and in Jesus Christ and certainly “doubt” is at times the enemy of faith, but also the gateway to deeper and more secure faith. For the Christian, doubt is taking our eyes off of Jesus in the midst of the storm (Matthew 14:26-32). For the Christian, doubt is the enemy of effective prayer (Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:23-24; James 1:6-8). Doubt is one of those things that we all deal with because it is a common element of life. We all have doubt, but we all do not know how to deal with it. Doubt, especially in our relationships with Christ, can do great damage.

BIBLICAL STORIES OF DOUBT (OLD TESTAMENT & NEW TESTAMENT)

When I think of doubt and the damage it can do I think of several Old Testament passages which flesh out doubt for us. These passages give doubt a face. They give doubt a name. They show us where doubt comes from. These passages give us the ability to figure out how to deal with doubt when it comes. In my opinion, if you take your faith in God and in Jesus Christ seriously, you will deal with doubt now and again. If you are a person who is active in your faith and you are attempting to be more and more like Jesus Christ everyday, or at least every other day, then doubt will come and knock at your door. These Old Testament passages show us what others have done when doubt comes knocking.

When I think of doubt I remember Abram and Sarai, who in faith struck out with God on a journey to an unknown land, but while in Egypt, because of fear, Abram chose to doubt God’s protection and he lied about Sarai being his wife, not once, but twice (Genesis 12 & 20). When I think of doubt, I remember the people of God as they walked miraculously on dry ground across the Red Sea (Exodus 14), but just a few chapters later were doubting God’s provision because they were hungry and thirsty (Exodus 16 & 17) and their physical needs brought doubt to their hearts. I think of the prophet Elijah and his huge victory over the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, but in chapter 19 we find him hiding in the desert and complaining to God and doubting what God would do for him. The list could go on forever because people of faith have doubts. People of faith deal with periods of doubt in their lives because of fear, physical needs, lack of faith, and a whole host of reasons.