Have you ever had to wrestle with doubt? Times when you silently question the spiritual truths you believe? Times when you wonder if the Bible is true and God is loving, fair, and omnipotent, then why are things still so hard in your life and the lives of others around you? The questions linger: “Why am I still sick?” “Why am I still unemployed?” and on and on.
While most Christians would consider it blasphemous to voice these thoughts, the reality is that some people struggle with these and similar questions in the privacy of their own minds. Some of these people are seated in the church pews every Sunday. In some ways they are like the man who brought his son who had a “dumb spirit” whom Jesus’ disciples could not cast out, but when the father stood before Jesus he asked of Him, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us” (Mark 9:22b, KJV). The narrative continues, “Jesus said, ‘If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.’ No sooner were the words out of His mouth than the father cried, ‘Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!'” (vv. 23-24, The Message).
The fact that Jesus’ disciples had failed caused the father to question Jesus’ ability. However, Jesus turned the situation around by reminding the man that the issue was not His [God’s] ability, but rather the lack of faith on the part of the one asking. In other words, with God all things are possible but do we have the faith to believe that? It is important to understand that belief is not a matter of mental assent or agreement, but rather a conviction in one’s heart. Someone once said, “Until you believe the truth in your heart, all you have is information.” Yes, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; nothing is impossible with Him, but is that truth in our heads or has it taken root in our hearts?
What we believe in our hearts will manifest itself in our thoughts, actions, and attitudes. The next time you find yourself doubting and worrying, ask yourself what is it that you truly believe. God is not intimidated by shaky faith and He can handle doubts, for He knows our frame and remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:14). We want to believe, we say we believe, but doubt saps the life out of our faith. However, God’s abilities do not wane because we have trouble believing. He is who He say He is. Once we move that truth from our heads to our hearts, we have it on good authority that nothing in accordance with the will of God will be impossible to us (1 John 5:14-15). Still not sure? Just ask Jesus. You can trust whatever He tells you.
CEW
