Doubt

by J.M. Gault, Portslade, U.K. | Category: Christian Problems In Today's World | Jun 1982

One has often wondered why it should be that Christians pass through times of doubt. I submit that there may be several reasons for this.

Our faith is centred upon our Lord Jesus Christ, and, although we believe on Him, we have never seen Him. His life and death, burial and resurrection are all important to our faith as being those things which declare Him to be the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, yet the majority refuse to accept that these events ever took place. The world' in which we live is in the main hostile to our faith and our beliefs. The fundamentals of the Faith are disputed, disbelieved and denied. The mass media are in the main aligned to anti-Christian thinking so that our faith is under constant bombardment from the things we see and hear.

Furthermore, the Bible, the main channel of revelation and the source of great comfort to all believers day by day, is not generally regarded as the inspired Word of God. It is considered by many not to have the authority which Christians ascribe to it. In our own personal lives too, sickness, hardship, bereavement and other unpleasant experiences, although the common lot of all mankind, can cause Christians to doubt the things they hold most dear.

To have times of doubt therefore seems inevitable, and one might consider whether it is not, in the will of God, meant to be a necessary discipline for us: part of the process of growing "in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ".

When considering the subject of doubt one inevitably thinks of Thomas the apostle on that occasion when the Lord first appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. For some reason not explained to us Thomas was not present. Later when they told him what had happened, Thomas could not believe it. The combined testimonies of all the others failed to convince him that the Lord was indeed risen from the dead and had appeared to them. Thomas wanted to have his own personal proof and nothing else would satisfy him. This is a perfect example of doubt and disbelief. Thomas said, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). It is reassuring, however, to notice that the Lord knew of the doubt being expressed by Thomas. A week later when He appeared a second time to the disciples, and when Thomas was present, the

Lord spoke directly to him and showed to him the unmistakable evidence for which he had asked. We might ask why the Lord had kept Thomas waiting a week before clearing the doubt from his mind: a week of bewilderment and perplexity; a week of isolation in thought and experience from the other disciples before he could share in their new found joy and confidence in the risen Lord.

Again, one thinks of Peter the apostle and of that stormy night on Lake Galilee when, as he walked on the water, he began to sink. The Lord said to him after He had stretched out His hand to save him from sinking, "0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" What more could Peter have asked for on that occasion? The Lord was not only present on the scene, but had also given His assent to Peter's request, "Bid me come to Thee upon the water". At the Lord's command, Peter was doing that which was humanly impossible: he was walking on the water. His faith had enabled him to begin to do so, and then he began to sink. What had gone wrong? It must have been the environment which caused Peter to lose his faith. The wind was boisterous and the sea was rough. It was dark, he was tired, and with the others he had had a fright thinking that they had seen an apparition. His faith was under attack and it was not equal to the occasion.

Perhaps in the word of the Lord to Peter, "0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" there is the key to the problem of doubt. It is surely the absence of faith which causes the doubt. Faith and doubt are like the opposite ends of a see-saw. When faith is riding high, doubt is low and conversely when faith is low, doubt is high. The Lord once said to His disciples, "If ye have faith and doubt not..." (Matt. 21:21) We live in an environment which is hostile to us and, like Peter, when we look at what is taking place around us we can become afraid and begin to doubt. For this reason, the fellowship of other Christians is vitally important to us and we do well not to absent ourselves from their company. Fellow Christians can help us to overcome our doubt, but there may be times when, like Thomas, we will be satisfied 6nly with a word from the Lord.

God often does speak to us personally through His Word just as directly as the Lord spoke to Thomas. For Thomas, that wonderful moment of revelation may have produced a sense of personal shame for his lack of faith, but one thing seems certain: from that moment onwards his faith would be unshakable.

Each doubt overcome and put behind us makes us stronger and more mature, yet we may never reach the end of our doubts, or our fears, until that great day when we shall, like Thomas, stand in the presence of our Lord and our God.

Perhaps, therefore, the experience of doubting is a necessary part of Christian living. We often feel that one brief outshining of the Lord's presence would be enough to banish all doubt from our minds and permit us to live the rest of our lives in unmitigated euphoria. That one brief glimpse does not come, however, and so we must wait for that glorious day of His unveiling.

The Lord said to Thomas: "Because thou hast seen Me thou hast believed:

blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

J.M. Gault, Portslade, U.K. | Jun 1982
Christian Problems In Today's World