Are You Doubting? (Part I of II)
By Chris Voss
Have you ever doubted God’s loving presence in your life? In your heart of hearts, have you ever doubted the very existence of God? When God told Abraham he would be a father in his old age, Abraham doubted God’s promise. Even after talking directly with God, Abraham still had his doubts (Genesis 17:17). When God, posing as one of three travelers, told Abraham that his and Sarah’s desire for a child would be granted, regardless of their age, Sarah laughed because of her doubts and disbelief. They both came to understand that this traveler was actually Jehovah God, but neither Sarah nor Abraham believed God’s promise (Genesis 18:12).
When God told Moses to return to Egypt to lead the Jews out of bondage, Moses doubted his ability to handle the task, even though Moses was talking directly with God (Exodus 3:10-15).
When an angel of God told Gideon he would be a judge and lead the people, Gideon doubted God’s sincerity (Judges 6:12-17).
When Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was told by an angel of God he would be a father in his old age, he doubted God’s power could do such a miracle (Luke 1:18).
While these great Biblical personalities overcame their doubts about God, many in this present life let their spiritual doubts overcome their faith and soon they leave the church forever.
When I was a young boy attending church the pastor at the time, according to my mom, was a marvelous preacher and Bible scholar, deeply loved by the congregation he served. This pastor completely shocked the church by announcing that he was quitting the ministry and the church because he no longer believed the Bible to be true, nor did he now believe in the existence of God Almighty. He walked away from the pulpit and out of the church, never to return. His doubts had consumed his faith.
Doubts almost destroyed the faith of the disciple Thomas.
What do we really know about Thomas? Aside from the lists of disciples in the New Testament, Thomas appears in three passages of Scripture, all in the Gospel of John. In the eleventh chapter of John (vss. 14-16), at the death of Lazarus, Thomas is willing to go with Jesus back to Judea, even if it means going back to die with Jesus. That doesn’t sound much like doubt, does it? In John 14:1-5, Thomas asks a question about the way to heaven, and it sounds more like confused ignorance of what Jesus was really saying than genuine doubt. But then comes the Easter evening appearance of Jesus to the disciples at which time Thomas was not there.
John 20:24 & 25, But Thomas, called Didymus (the twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand to His side, I will not believe.”
Next time: Two kinds of doubt and a holy blessing from Jesus concerning faith, considered, in the conclusion to “Are You Doubting?”
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Chris Voss is a pastor at First Christian Church, 317 S. Main, Donna.