Every night Violet and I prop the pillows on her bed and read a chapter or two of our current chapter book - right now we’re finishing up A Lion To Gaurd Us. I close the pages, pray along with her, and then as I turn out the light she always asks: “Mom, can make SURE my lunch and uniform are ready for tomorrow?”
I say yes, but she always asks again. And again. Even when I’m downstairs I’ll hear her call down the steps, “You won’t forget will you, mom?!” I find her daily doubt in my ability to do this small thing exasperating, and maybe a little insulting — ha!
Doubt: a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction
Sometimes we have good reason to doubt. If someone or something has proven to be unreliable or untrue, it’s rational to doubt. But is doubt itself a virtue? Many in the Christian world are making it out to be.
Recently I was in a group of intelligent and credentialed people who professed to be Christians. We were discussing a chapter of the Bible and relating what we were learning. A PhD-holding man stroked his beard, stared at the ceiling, and thoughtfully mused, “My spiritual journey is one where I now have more questions than answers.” The group murmured approval as if a lack of certainty was clearly greater enlightenment.
Buddha concurs: “Doubt everything. Find your own light.”
Christopher Hutchens, the atheist author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything also would nod his head: “To choose dogma and faith over doubt and experience is to throw out the ripening vintage and to reach greedily for the Kool-Aid.”
But what about Christians?
I’ve had doubts as dark as night. Like Peter, we can feel ourselves sinking into the waves when we feel alone, defeated, tempted, or discouraged. And like Eve, the rumbles of “did God really say…” begin.
But this is not a badge of honor or an intellectual flex. It’s a display of weakness, of my need for greater faith, and of God’s love. He invites us to come with our doubts and gives greater certainty and confidence in Him. Just like Peter.
To the world, faith in God is foolish, certainty in His Word is naive, and obedience to Christ is narrow.
But the author of Romans says the opposite, they bring strength, certainty, and joy:
“No unbelief made him (Abraham) waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Romans 4:20-21
Luke wrote his account “so that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” Luke 1:4
James says to “ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5
It’s a bold invitation to a certainty exclusively realized through faith in Christ.
Photo of the week:
Calvin has been having weekly sessions at Mary Free Bed to learn how to use a switch to communicate. We are hesitantly hopeful! Check out Calvin in the lobby - he’s nearly 100% blind but there was something about the light coming through the skylights and the glass sculptures that just made him radiate joy. :)
Story of the week:
This past week I had visions of making homemade bread and pulling it out fresh and warm in the early morning hours for the kids. Well, I did that, BUT here was Evie’s review: “This bread would be great if you were an Israelite, packing up to head out of Egypt. Dense and great for packing.” Crusty, steamy, but as dense as a baseball bat. ;) Try again? I need some breadmaking tips!!
Tweet of the week:
lol