Tag: doubt

Don’t Doubt During the Drought

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(1 Kings 17:1-6)

When everything in your world is going according to plan and playing out the way you imagine it should be, more or less, we don’t talk about trust. When we have what we need and we’re able to do what we do without interruption or inconvenience, we don’t talk about trust. When health is favorable and finances are fine, we don’t talk about trust. When family is getting along and friendships are thriving, we don’t talk about trust. When there are no challenges at church and we’re on good terms with all of our neighbors, we don’t talk about trust. 

But if – rather when – any of those areas of life start to veer off course or take a completely wrong turn, suddenly trust is a topic of discussion. However, you might not realize it right away, because you may not initially see that as the issue. Instead, it usually starts off with questions about what God is or is not doing, or why he is or is not doing it, or when he’s going to start or stop doing it. We wonder if God has changed his mind about us, has forgotten about us, or is possibly punishing us. When we find ourselves wrestling with those questions, the real concern is not God, but us. God God, who has made it clear he does not change, is not the issue; we are. Or to put it another way, our trust in him is.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the times we are most likely to talk about trust are the times when trust is tested? This is the case whether a person’s trust appears to be an unraveling mess or an unshakeable mountain. In each case, the best way we assess whether trust is floundering or flourishing is when trust is tested. To know where we stand regarding trust then, our trust must be tried, and times of trial serve as the litmus test.

One historical season of trial for God’s people came during the reign of the kings. With few exceptions, evil and wickedness were the distinguishing marks of the kings after David. Yet, there was one whose wickedness far surpassed all others: Ahab. As if to set his wickedness apart, Ahab receives noticeably more coverage in Scripture than other kings. His marriage to Jezebel helped seal his nasty reputation. Their state-mandated sleazy and morbid worship of Baal and Asherah took Israel’s idolatry to its lowest low.

In sharp contrast to Ahab, we have the prophet Elijah, who comes onto the scene of Scripture in these verses rather abruptly and with very little introduction. Unlike Ahab, Elijah’s faithfulness bears testimony to the meaning of his name, “The LORD is my God.” In contrast to a king and people whose gods were impotent idols, Elijah demonstrated a towering trust in God. How so? By his words and actions.

Elijah’s confidence is clearly expressed in the boldness of his first recorded words to Ahab, which were not words of encouragement but, as a call to repentance, were words of judgment. “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (v.1).

And Elijah wasn’t only the bearer of the bad news of famine; he also boldly clarified where his loyalties laid: with the Lord, the God of Israel (as opposed to Baal and Asherah, who, no matter how much they were worshipped, were certainly not the gods of Israel). Ahab had the power to put Elijah to death (and indeed did hunt down God’s prophets and put them to death!), but that authority didn’t intimidate Elijah enough to topple his trust in the Lord and keep him from speaking. His words revealed where he tethered his trust: to the Lord. 

Not only did his words demonstrate his trust in God. So did his actions. The Lord had instructed him to hide out from Ahab in a ravine, where he promised to provide for him during the drought. How did Elijah respond? “So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there” (v.5).

The Lord directed him and Elijah obeyed. And not just temporarily, until he perhaps tired of it or started to worry once the brook was drying up. No, he “stayed there” until God gave him his next marching orders to go visit a certain widow in Zarephath (where God would continue building up Elijah’s trust with yet another miracle). So we are able to gauge Elijah’s level of trust because there was a season of testing.

If you are not currently in a season of testing, don’t hold your breath – you will be soon. Such seasons at times come on us slowly, allowing us to anticipate and prepare for them. At other times, though, such seasons are relentless, exploding around us like a furious fireworks finale – boom! boom! boom! – one after another after another, with little or no break in between. Either way, no matter the pace, seasons of testing will come. 

Some of you don’t have to wait. Some of you are currently at the beginning, middle, or end of such a season. You are grappling with life after losing a loved one. A financial squeeze is suffocating you, like a python wrapped around you, slowly increasing the pressure one bill at a time. Or, the world’s waywardness weighs on you, taking you to a new low of doubt and confusion over God’s apparent indifference. A relative’s attitude and actions against your family are pushing the exercise of your Christian faith to its limits. Wherever you are in these seasons of testing, these times of drought, you teeter more and more on the edge of doubt as you question God. To be sure, your trust is being tested.

How do we demonstrate where our trust is at? Just as Elijah did – by the words spoken and the actions taken. Pay attention to how you speak to yourself and to others during this drought as your trust is being tested. Do your words reflect that God is good and that in and through Christ you have already been given the victory, which in turn assures you that this, too, shall pass? No, we don’t always speak that way because we often don’t feel that way. 

But that’s backward. Why would you wait until you feel as if it’s true to trust God’s promises? Are your feelings more reliable than the promises of God’s Word? Surely not. So don’t wait to feel as if God is good or that you are victorious in Christ. Instead, start speaking that way during your time of testing. And you know what?

You’ll start to believe it. Too often we let our feelings steer us, as if those will ever be more reliable or trustworthy than God’s promises. Speak his promises. Tell yourself and others what he tells you and promises you. He is good all the time, and in Jesus Christ and through the power of his resurrection, you are victorious.

Then, just as Elijah did, also act as if you believe those truths to be true. Act as if God is good and as if you are victorious in Christ. When our actions follow those truths, we do things differently.

We don’t buy into the lie that a season of testing is a valid or legitimate reason for not gathering with our church family each week to be where we need to be more than anywhere else – reassured and filled up with God’s good gifts of grace and forgiveness.

We don’t wait until we feel like serving others (including the individual or group who very well might be the source of our testing); our love takes action on their behalf.

We don’t spend less time talking to God in prayer because we’re mad at him or can’t understand why he allowed what he did to happen; we spend more time in prayer, pouring out our frustrations and asking God for answers as he wills to reveal them.

We don’t presume we can stick it to God with our pocketbooks by withholding our gifts from him; rather, we continue to thank him with a portion of our gifts even when it seems counterintuitive to being able to pay off our bills.

So we speak and we act in ways that make evident our trust in God during times of testing. We don’t take the all-too-familiar path of doubt during the drought. 

What happened when Elijah trusted during the drought? God was God, doing what God does and keeping his promises. Sometimes, God even uses miracles in doing so. “‘You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.’ So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook” (v.4-6).

Elijah was tested. Elijah trusted. God delivered. 

That’s how God operates in your life, too. We are tested. We trust. God delivers.

God always delivers – that’s what he does. Delivering is his specialty. How much room is there for doubting his deliverance when we consider the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ? Will the One who paid such a price for your sin really follow that up with, “Oh, but I forgot about the food you need, or the clothes, or the fill-in-the-blank?”

Will the One who redeemed your body and soul fail to provide for the body and soul he redeemed?

Will the One who is present in body and blood of the sacrament abandon us at the death of a loved one?

That is not God. That is not what he does. He does not abandon; he delivers. 

The forgiveness that he delivered through his own death, he will continue to deliver through Word and sacrament until he returns again on the last day. And if he is committed to delivering us in that way, he will deliver us in every other way as well.

But for us to see that deliverance, and to see where our trust is, there will be testing. Elijah was tested. Elijah trusted. God delivered. Let the same be said of you. When you were/are tested, you trusted, and God delivered. Remember what God did on his cross for you and you will not doubt his deliverance – not even during the droughts. 

Dealing with Doubt

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(John 20:19-31)

Doubt is a universal struggle. We all deal with it at different times in life under different circumstances. When it comes to dealing with doubt, what have you found to be most helpful to address it?

Does it help when others provide this insightful advice: “You just have to believe.”? How about this: “Stop doubting.”? Or this one, which combines them both: “Stop doubting and believe.”? 

You might recognize that last one from John 20. Those are the words of Jesus himself.

Under the circumstances, I imagine they were pretty powerful. Thomas hadn’t been with the other disciples that first Easter Sunday when Jesus appeared to them to offer proof of his resurrection from the dead. This time, however, Thomas was present as Jesus appeared to them, providing concrete evidence to back up his words, “Stop doubting and believe.” It’s much easier to stop doubting and believe when the evidence is staring you in the face and speaking the very words to you!

But do those words carry the same weight if it’s not Jesus speaking them to you in person? They don’t, which is why telling someone who is struggling with doubt to just “stop doubting” might be about the least effective advice there is. And right up there with it is “just believe more.”

That kind of advice is not only ineffective but also a bit of an insult. It goes without saying that the person struggling with doubt knows full well that the desired outcome would be to doubt less and believe more. Yet the whole reason they’re struggling is because they can’t!

Unless we expect Jesus to show up on our doorstep and help us address our doubts in the way that he did Thomas, how do we manage them? How do we overcome them? How do we eliminate them? 

Let’s start with an essential first step: realizing that you won’t ever eliminate them. That just won’t happen. We often beat ourselves up because we think we can completely eliminate our doubts.

But no human being, no matter how strong a believer she is, no matter how self-confident he is, will ever get to the point of completely eliminating doubts from life. Once we realize that is not the goal, because it is not achievable, then we can actually make some progress. And the best verse in this whole section to help us address doubt is found at the very end in verse thirty-one. 

Before we get to that though, let’s recap the details of this account, singling out the highlights. Think of how busy Easter Sunday morning is as you consider everything that goes on at church that morning. But no matter how much effort is put into the worship and music and brunch and egg hunt and clean up, it’s nothing compared to how busy Jesus was on that first Easter Sunday.

He had one Resurrection gig after another scheduled throughout the day, appearing here, there, and everywhere, finally presenting himself to the distressed disciples who were fearfully hunkered down behind locked doors. As they were still trying to piece together the various stories and appearances and the implications of it all, Jesus himself appeared in their presence.

But Jesus was there to provide more than just his presence; he provided them with peace. And with that peace he sent them out, equipping them with the gift of the Holy Spirit to pass along that peace to others through what we call the Use of the Keys, that calling every Christian has in Jesus’ name to forgive the sins of the repentant or to withhold forgiveness from the impenitent.

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven’” (v.21-23). 

There was a lot going on there! Jesus’ presence. The promise of Jesus’ peace. The tall order of being sent by Jesus. Receiving the Holy Spirit. Forgiving sins. It wasn’t just a lot to do… it was a lot to doubt.

Doubting has come naturally to mankind ever since Satan first introduced it in the Garden with his “Did God really say?” So when Jesus showed up and then basically laid out his marching orders for believers to carry out until he returns on the last day, there was more than enough to doubt. Especially for a group that had deserted and denied Jesus in his moment of greatest need!

“Are we really at peace, after our shameful behavior?” Are you seriously sending this group?” “Do we really have the Holy Spirit – where is the proof?” “You’re counting on us to be able to forgive others’ sins when we’re guilty of more sins ourselves than we could ever count?”

There was so much room for doubt! And to make matters worse for Thomas, he wasn’t even there! In hindsight, we shouldn’t be so shocked that he ever doubted; it would have been more shocking if he had believed all of it without any doubt whatsoever! 

But Jesus is patient. And not just with those we might reasonably expect him to be patient (those we might think of as having earned it because they are pretty strong, spiritually speaking). No, Jesus is patient with everyone who doubts. Even the Thomases.  

Notice that Jesus didn’t come to take Thomas to task (just as he didn’t scold Mary at the tomb on Easter). He didn’t show up a week later to embarrass Thomas, but to encourage him; to strengthen him.

Too often we view Jesus as the drill sergeant who is most interested in shaping us up. Behave! Obey! Get it right! Don’t mess up again! That wasn’t Jesus’ message to Thomas, though.

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (v.29).

With these words, Jesus was not only reassuring Thomas, but also sharing a powerful truth that all of the disciples would need to hear and bear in mind as they began to carry out the mission he was sending them on. They were dealing with spiritual matters, with matters of faith, with things unseen which are the Holy Spirit’s work.

Jesus was telling them the Word he was sending them with was powerful enough to create faith and belief even in those who would never lay physical eyes on the resurrected Jesus. So Jesus wasn’t just showing patience with Thomas, but really all of the disciples. 

That same Jesus is every bit as patient with you. Your doubt doesn’t disqualify you from Christ’s Kingdom. In fact, since there is nothing that can qualify you for Christ’s Kingdom, then it stands to reason that nothing can disqualify you. Jesus doesn’t welcome us into his kingdom based on some scale of how weighty our faith is or rule us out of his kingdom based on the degree of doubt we drum up.

He welcomes us into his kingdom despite our doubts. He welcomes us to dispel our doubts as he strengthens our faith. He welcomes us by his grace, through his Spirit, on account of his work. His. His. His. And that is why his kingdom is yours. 

With full confidence in his grace, so clearly displayed on Good Friday’s cross and evidenced again via the vacant tomb on Easter Sunday, our place in Christ’s Kingdom is secured. Through our faith in his saving work, it is ours. And as those who belong, we long to believe with a faith that grows even firmer, a faith that is so strongly rooted in the soil of Christ’s saving work that it leaves less room for weeds of doubt to pop up. For those craving that kind of conviction and confidence of faith, let’s finally dig into verse 31.

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (v.31). In addition to the resurrection account covered in the verses from John 20, John’s Gospel had previously spent 19 chapters recording many of the words and works of Jesus that aren’t covered in the other Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (referred to as the synoptic Gospels, as they cover many of the same accounts). Now, as he concludes his Gospel, he explains his intent behind all of it: so that you may believe and have life. Believe and live. 

If we are serious about wanting to manage our doubts and overcome them as they arise, then here it is again. Exactly what Jesus directed Thomas to do: stop doubting and believe.

What is different this time around? Remember, we don’t have Jesus himself speaking the words to us right in front of us as Thomas did. But we have something that Jesus guarantees is every bit as powerful: His Word, the Bible – powerful because his Word is nothing more than his words recorded for us. 

See how John wrote it? “These are written that you may believe… and that by believing you may have life in his name” (v.31). Written. Believe. Written. Believe. See any connection there? It’s all right in the Bible. Literally. There isn’t some secret passage to uncover that will serve as a silver bullet.

If that’s been your approach to Scripture, then you’ve been misled or doing it wrong. The Bible isn’t a textbook for finding the answer to pass the test. It is life. It is faith-fortifying. It is doubt-destroying. It is belief-building. 

But not merely by being written. It has to be read. By God’s grace, you’re familiar enough with it for faith in Jesus to have been formed. But God doesn’t shift gears and point us to some other method for growing our faith that is different from how he brought us to faith. It’s the same thing.

The written Word. When read. When studied. When pondered. When personalized. When lived and breathed. When loved. When we become more and more wrapped up in this written Word, the Holy Spirit sees to it that faith flourishes.

And where faith is flourishing, Satan isn’t as inclined to sow his seeds of doubt, for he knows they are less likely to take root. Instead, he will reinforce the doubts of those already clouded in unbelief and focus his attention on believers who are too busy for the Word and preoccupied with the world. And who can blame him?!? His rate of success is much higher where faith is fizzling, and faith is fizzling where the written Word is not read. 

So will this Easter turn out the same as previous ones? Same service, give or take? Same nice brunch? Same nice meal with the family? Same baskets and eggs and candy? Same doubts?

Or will it be different? Will you read the Word that has been written so that, like Thomas, you may stop doubting and believe? 

“Help Me See… that My Doubts are Unfounded”

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(John 20:19-29)

People don’t rise from the dead. People die. They die all the time. We are accustomed to daily news reports of accidents or tragedies that took place, and one of the most commonly reported details in such cases is the number of those dead. Sadly, mass shootings have been a regular occurrence this year so far. We may not be shocked to hear that there’s been another shooting, but we do look immediately to see how many died. Headlines and news stories report people dying. They don’t, however, report people rising from the dead. 

That being the case, we ought not be the least bit surprised by the reaction of Thomas at the news of the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples. Dying, sure – that was normal. Everyone died. Word had even spread that Jesus had died. But rising from the dead is not normal, so when this completely abnormal event was reported to Thomas, of course he doubted. Let’s not pretend we would have done otherwise. 

Doubt is most likely in situations that are most unlikely, right? In other words, when there is not a very high probability or likelihood of something taking place, doubt is quite common. Not too long ago when the lottery jackpot kept rising and no one kept winning, I did something I rarely do – I bought a couple of tickets. Do you suppose I had a high level of confidence that I was going to win? Absolutely not, but it’s a fun way to teach my kids that lottery tickets are an absolutely horrible method of financial planning for your retirement. Winning the lottery is reality-based reason to doubt – the likelihood of a person winning is extremely low – especially when the jackpot is high and more tickets are sold! The same could be said of aspirations to play professional sports or fly into space. The likelihood of some things happening is statistically so low that there are reality-based reasons to doubt.

But there is another cause of our doubt. It isn’t always just reality-based; sometimes it’s brain-based. When my mind is made up that something isn’t going to happen and I drum up enough doubt to derail it, or to see to it that a thing never even gets a chance in the first place, that’s a different kind of doubt. “I have been single this long, so I doubt I’ll ever get married.” “I can’t put thoughts to words like this author can, so I could never write a book.” “I’m not a strong enough Christian to serve in my church.” Regardless of what the reality of these situations is, the doubt isn’t based on overwhelming external evidence or statistics or probabilities – it isn’t reality-based, but brain-based. There is something to it when we tell others, “It’s just in your head.” So very often, doubt is, too. It’s just in our head, and as long as we let it take up space there, it will leave us limited.

Of these two types of doubt, reality-based and brain-based, which do you attribute to Thomas? When the disciples ecstatically announced that they had seen the risen Jesus, and Thomas responded, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25), was his doubt based on reality or was it just in his head? Wouldn’t we be inclined to presume his doubt was reality-based? Remember, dead people don’t rise! Not only is it statistically unlikely – it’s impossible! So it would seem Thomas’s doubts were reality-based. 

Jesus’ resurrection, though, is different. While resurrections in general are not only improbable, but impossible, not only was Jesus’ resurrection possible; it was also predicted! The prophets Isaiah (ch. 9) and Micah (ch. 5) had both predicted that the Messiah’s rule would never end. It would be eternal. Therefore, the Messiah would have to live forever; death could not be the end. Psalms 16 and 22, Jonah, and Isaiah (ch. 53) also make reference to death and rising or living again. Since David died, such references could not be to him alone, but to the Messiah who would not be abandoned to the grave, who would live to see his offspring. The resurrection, while not explicitly stated in the Old Testament, was clearly taught nonetheless.

And Thomas didn’t just have the Old Testament. He also had the words of Jesus himself. Jesus had predicted both clearly and directly on numerous different occasions that he would die and three days later rise again (clear enough, in fact, that even his enemies accused him of making such a claim!). So Thomas also had the words directly from the source!

And Thomas didn’t just have the words of Jesus – though even those would have been more than adequate! He also had the words of the other disciples. Perhaps if one or two had made such a claim, it might be easier to doubt. But all of them agreed. These were people Thomas trusted and respected. They were his friends. They saw Jesus – alive!

So in light of all of the evidence, was Thomas’s doubt in fact reality-based, or brain-based? Think of a similar situation. Suppose tomorrow a headline reveals that a doctor discovered the cure for cancer. Based on reality, you would have reason to doubt. We can’t cure cancer, after all, we can only treat it. But in addition to his claim, he also provides evidence of his studies and work. And on top of that he provides case studies of real-life people whose cancer has been cured, and their friends and witnesses who attest to it! Reality-based doubt suddenly falls by the wayside when a previous reality changes. So it was with Jesus’ resurrection. Dead people don’t rise. Until Jesus did. Any doubt about it at that point was no longer reality-based, but brain based. It was all in Thomas’s head. 

Let’s shift now from Thomas’s doubts to yours. From where do most of your doubts stem? Are they based in reality or in your own brain? 

Take our theological doubts. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not – there are plenty of teachings and concepts and characteristics about God that leave us doubting from time to time… even the event that is the reason for this season of the church year and the focus of this series: the Resurrection. There are times when we are pondering our relationship with God and doubts arise as to whether or not Jesus did rise. And, while we’re at it, let’s be totally honest and go back a step further – there are even times we doubt if God exists. There, I said it – do you feel better? Now those might be the big ones, but they’re just the tip of our theological doubts. Ever doubted the Trinity? Ever doubted Creation? Ever doubted that in respect to our roles as men and women, God actually did create us differently, and that it’s a good thing? Ever doubt that there’s a hell… or even a heaven? You’re not alone. 

But I don’t know how much of a comfort that is. See, you’re not alone because every doubt you and I have about God can be traced all the way back to the same seed of doubt planted in the Garden of Even. Tragically, it sprouted immediately into sin. Satan introduced doubt into Eve’s mind when he asked, “Did God really say you couldn’t eat the fruit?” (Gen. 3). Just as surely as that doubt snowballed into sin, so today it is no different. Our doubts about God aren’t merely the stuff of innocent ignorance, but rather willful rebellion. Doubts about God are natural for a human race that despises being beneath anyone else, that wants no one over us, no one controlling us, no one the boss of us. But even that false impression we have of God isn’t from God himself, but from his enemy. The relationship Adam & Eve first had with God was nothing like what Satan tries to sell us today! It was beautiful! Harmonious! No bossing or controlling – only perfect love seen for what it truly was! Before the Fall, when Adam & Eve had enjoyed the holy image of God, there was no doubt, because there was only perfect understanding. But where sin reigns in this world, doubt abounds.

So we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. Do we give in to doubt, keep our heads stuck in the sand about the reality of our doubts being indicative of our sinful nature and its ultimate destination of hell, or in repentance do we trade in our doubts for trust? Do I trust that my sin – all of it, including every ounce of doubt – has been forgiven? Do I believe that my doubts, while common to us all and which would rightly condemn us all, have been dealt with and disallowed as inadmissible evidence against me because of Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Do I believe that my gracious God actually wants to replace my crippling doubts with concrete trust in him? Do I believe that the Resurrection truly does help me see all of this? Do I believe that a former way of life that was riddled with doubt can give way to a life full of faith, of confident trust in a compassionate, gracious, forgiving God? Do I believe it can make a difference living a life that is secure and assured, not in self, but in my resurrected Savior and his promises? If you believe these things – when you believe these things, you experience the exact blessings Jesus promised to Thomas when he appeared to him a week later and said, “Peace be with you! Stop doubting and believe… blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (cf. v.26-28). As the Holy Spirit increasingly replaces your doubts with his trust, blessings will multiply in your life.

Finally, whether reality-based or brain-based, we doubt on a daily basis. But… we also trust on a daily basis. Every bite of food you eat, you are trusting that you’ll swallow it without choking. Every time you obey a traffic light, you trust others will do the same and not collide into you. Every time you follow the doctor’s orders and the directions on the pill bottle, you trust that doing so will be good for you. When you go to bed at night, you trust you will wake up in the morning. Everything I just mentioned amounts to a fraction of the times we exercise trust each day, and they all have this in common: not one of them is 100% reliable! Your personal experience has taught you that! Yet we still live daily placing our trust in these trivial activities. So what do you suppose happens when we place our trust completely in the one who is 100% reliable, in the God who has never failed to follow through with a promise, who has always had the best eternal interest of his people on his heart and mind, who went to the lengths he did to put you at peace? Friends, now as much as ever, it is time for us to leave Thomas and his doubts behind and let the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead help us see that our doubts are unfounded. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!