Chapter 06: Doubt

[00:00:02] Chapter 6 doubt questions how do you picture God physically and emotionally? What is he like? What tone of voice do you imagine him speaking in? [00:00:14] Have you ever dealt with doubt of God's love for you? Doubt that you are really saved or doubt that anything has really changed in you? If yes, explain. [00:00:26] Have you ever had emotional or intellectual doubts, doubts that God is real, the Bible is trustworthy, the church is trustworthy, etc. If yes, explain Taking a moment to consider those times of doubt, what do you think might be the cause when those doubts arise? Is there anything you can remember or consider that brings comfort? Who do you turn to with those questions and doubts? [00:00:53] Part of being human is struggling with doubt. We know ourselves pretty well. We know all of our weaknesses, faults and indiscretions. It's easy for us to slip into the belief that Jesus could not love us. [00:01:05] Satan in the Bible this name means the adversary and is given to our spiritual enemy slides accusation into our minds. See, Jesus didn't change your heart, you failed. That salvation thing didn't take. [00:01:21] The emotional rollercoaster of human existence means every single one of us has days where it is hard to believe anything good, let alone that the God who created the world would love us so deeply he would die as our representative and invite us into a new way of living. If you, like so many of us, struggle with mental health, then this doubt is amplified, personal and existential. [00:01:47] Part of being human is struggling with doubt of all forms. There are days when our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. There are seasons where God feels distant and we genuinely wonder if any of this makes sense at all. There are books, YouTube videos and friends that make seemingly well founded arguments against Jesus, church and all kinds of things. It is worth noting that you are not alone. Christians throughout the ages have dealt with doubt in every form, so often that it was given a term by Christian poet Saint John of the Cross, the Dark night of the Soul From John Wesley to Mother Teresa, great women and men of faith have endured seasons of doubt. If you haven't found yourself in a season like the one described yet, it will inevitably arise. Anyone who has been married for any length of time knows that emotions change. Changing emotions do not mean changing love. [00:02:41] Be patient with yourself. Resist the urge to seek quick answers and easy solutions. Embrace the deep and oftentimes uncomfortable work of growth connected and doubting. [00:02:54] Every instinct you have will be to pull away from community and to isolate. Resist those urges. Remember that you are in good company, surrounded by people who have felt as you do and will be able to empathize. [00:03:07] A healthy community won't silence your questions just like they won't echo untruths. [00:03:13] They will welcome you in your struggle, listen to your questions, and gently, slowly and empathetically speak the truth of Scripture through the lens of their own journey. The author Daniel Miglior writes, Christian faith is not blind faith, but thinking faith. Christian hope is not superficial optimism, but well founded hope. [00:03:33] Christian love is not romantic naivete, but open eyed love. [00:03:38] In other words, you do not need to be afraid of your doubts. Our faith invites us to wrestle. It is not an unfaithful thing to do. I know you might be thinking about James 1:6, but when you ask, you must believe and not doubt. Because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. This is a different type of doubt to which James is referring. A different translation says it like this. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. The term translated doubt or waver is the word diachrono. In Greek it can mean separate, discriminate, or even withdraw. [00:04:17] As natural and even healthy as doubt can be, it is exhausting. Deconstruction is a common practice in our culture. Could it be that the reason why so many of us don't reconstruct into healthy spirituality is because we are exhausted by the process? [00:04:32] This is why we must cling to the source of our rest. We need a community that will allow us space to breathe. And we need to remind ourselves regularly that our rest comes in the facts of salvation. Salvation is about what Jesus did, not about what we do. Sometimes it doesn't feel true. Sometimes we don't feel lovable. Often we just cannot accept that anything is actually free. [00:04:56] Rest is a key word in salvation. Why? Because we rest when we are safe and secure. Like a child tucked in at night with no concern of danger because they trust someone that they love. We rest in the work of Jesus on the cross. We remind our hearts that because we didn't do the work, we cannot undo the work. Jesus saves and we can trust him. When you doubt which you will rest by reminding yourself that of the work of Jesus anchors in our doubt. When we find ourselves in a season of doubt, we can feel like we're drifting aimlessly. It's hard to determine where we are, let alone where we're going in these seasons. We need something like an anchor to keep us safe while we are in the uncertainty. If we look throughout Scripture and even church history. We can find these anchors that keep us from drifting in our seasons of doubt. [00:05:46] History the cross is not debatable. It is a well accepted fact in historical scholarship that Jesus was crucified. Even atheist scholars tend to agree that Jesus was killed by the Romans around 33 AD. [00:06:00] There are also sound, compelling arguments for the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Consider this Jesus died in front of history. It was not a secret. It was not an idea to be argued. He died and rose again before the world publicly. [00:06:15] There was nothing hidden or manipulative about it. It was no secret. This is not a worldview or religious idea that was meant to be argued into acceptance. It is an event that happened. God did not prove his love for us in a well presented argument. He proved his love for us by dying in public and rising again before the world. [00:06:36] In addition to this, Scripture has stood the test of time and held up to the highest level of scrutiny, criticism and academic rigor ever applied to an ancient text. It is trustworthy intellectually. It is also trustworthy spiritually. When we cannot silence our own doubts and the chaos of life clouds our minds, we can turn to the Word of God and find comfort and peace in the affirmation of God's love for us. [00:07:03] First John 3:19 20 NIV says this this is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence. [00:07:12] If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything. [00:07:19] Even if our hearts condemn us, we can rest in the truth that is outside of ourselves. If you trust in the work of Jesus, you are forgiven and saved. The Holy Spirit speaks to us in a variety of ways, but always through Scripture. The Psalms are a wonderful place to turn in times of doubt. In these songs and poems we often find our own doubts and questions reflected and given voices. [00:07:42] The cross specifically, and scripture more generally, provide an external anchor for us. In times of doubt, we can look to them, knowing that they have stood the test of time and provide a firm place for us to rest. When we do not feel like we are saved or loved, they tell us a different story. When we are not sure if we can believe in God at all, they stand with history behind them saying that we can. [00:08:05] Holy Spirit if you are a follower of Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. [00:08:11] When we are still inattentive, the Holy Spirit brings comfort and affirmation by reminding us of who we are in Christ. [00:08:18] First John 5:6 12 NIV says this this is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are in agreement. [00:08:39] We accept human testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God which He has given about His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar because they have not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. And this is the testimony. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. [00:09:08] The Holy Spirit is the one who aligns our hearts with truth. In seasons of doubt, we can seek out stillness and listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. [00:09:16] He will minister to our hearts the truth of God's love for us and his presence with us. [00:09:21] We will likely find ourselves in situations where stillness is nearly impossible. [00:09:26] Stress, busyness, anxiety, or even sin will prevent us from finding the patience and quiet we need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. [00:09:35] Even in those times when we cannot still our hearts. It is the Holy Spirit who enlightens Scripture to us, and even the Holy Spirit who speaks to us in and through the community. [00:09:46] Community the entirety of the New Testament is written to a community with community as the assumption. The state of being for followers of Jesus is to be in community with other believers. This reflects the design of humanity. We were made for relationships with God and one another. Galatians 6:2 NIV summarizes this carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. There are times in the life of every believer when we need another believer to encourage us in moments of doubt. It is not only necessary, but a joy to turn to your community for someone else to witness the change in us. [00:10:28] In his book Life Together, theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it like the Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother. His own heart is uncertain, his brother's is sure. [00:10:41] The more you are able to open your heart to follow Christ with other believers in vulnerable authenticity, the more you will find the life for which you were created. [00:10:51] No matter the varietal of doubt with which you are dealing. Don't pull away from community, people. Help us. Rest and trust. You might find yourself questioning whether any of it is true. Ask the questions in community. [00:11:05] Even if your questions are not answered, you will not have to wrestle alone. [00:11:10] Here's a simple exercise you can work through on your own or with your life group below. Write down the sins, doubts, struggles, etc. That often bring doubt of your salvation to your mind. [00:11:22] As you've written them down, thank Jesus that His death and resurrection have covered each one. And as you thank Jesus for each forgiveness, cross it off the page. Do this to show yourself visually that what Jesus did has taken away your sins. [00:11:38] Our prayer comes from St Patrick, a Catholic missionary to Ireland in the 5th century A.D. this prayer focuses our hearts on the presence of Christ with us. [00:11:50] Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in the eye that sees me, Christ in the ear that hears me. I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through a belief in the threeness, through a confession of the oneness of the Creator of creation. Amen.