Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is Hatred let me sow Love; where there is Injury, Pardon; where there is Doubt, Faith; where there is Despair, Hope; where there is Darkness, Light. St. Francis
Doubt is as natural to life as breathing. No one can ever be one hundred percent sure of all things. Doubting can open the door to creativity. It can open the door of opportunity. Doubting can free us from continuing in paths destined to failure or sadness. When we begin to question something, doubt it, change is seldom far behind.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Doubt and faith are not opposites but exist on either ends of the same spectrum. The one informs the other.
I remember my grandfather saying to my brother and me things like “I don’t think you can lift that,” or , “I don’t believe you can beat your brother in a footrace to the barn.” Of course, we wanted to prove him wrong, we wanted him to have faith in what we could lift or how fast we could run. His doubt helped us develop faith in ourselves.
Often in our faith life doubt is seen as bad. We wrongly believe that our faith needs to be so strong that doubt is nonexistent. This denies who we are by nature. We do have doubts—all of us.
But doubt does not need to rule our life. Our faith in God comes as we see His presence in our lives and in our world. As we breathe, as we observe a beautiful sunrise or sunset, hear the cooing of an infant, see a spectacularly colored bird, feel the wind--we by faith can know Creator God. Faith enables us to perceive the complex meaning of life, face and overcome obstacles, live with doubt and paradox, and to be at home in a world where God is always present.
Prayer: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” Amen.
Pastor Jerry
Tomorrow: Hope amid Despair
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