The past several weeks have been an exercise in trust. Last week I didn’t blog, mostly because I was in the middle of a pretty dry and barren place emotionally and spiritually. Circumstances of life, love, career, and finances all have a way of sneaking up on us, and in those moments the shadows of doubt can obscure not only our path but also our connection to God.
The beauty here is that God is never farther or closer based on our inability to feel his presence. A lot of times, in church, we put a heck of a lot of emphasis on having great faith without necessarily understanding where our faith comes from. In Mark 9, a man asks Jesus to drive an evil spirit out of his son. In his desperation, he pleaded,
“It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
Jesus responded to him by saying, “If you can’? Everything is possible for him who believes.”
The man, in the darkness of his own doubt cried out, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
I can’t think of a more honest answer to Jesus’ question. And in that moment, I think Mark reveals to us that Jesus isn’t offended by us for having doubt. Instead he calls upon us to cast our doubts to him. The very faith that we need comes from God himself.
A very wise friend of mine once said “Faith is not the absence of doubt. Faith is looking doubt right in the mouth, punching it, and moving on.”
I want to encourage you to not let doubt be an excuse to beat yourself up. As difficult as it is, doubt needs to be our reminder to turn to God and ask for faith. God is never afraid to get His hands dirty and wade through the stuff of life with you, so don’t hesitate to be honest with God.