The Problem With Doubt …Hello weekend readers. My musing today is about doubt. This entire week I either doubted myself or listened to others about their doubts. After a while I wanted to stop the whining and get my head in the right direction but that’s not so easy. So, let’s drill down to what doubt means and how it can be both bad and good!

In our social media-driven world, it’s easy to complain more in public than it is with a friend or how about prayer–do we doubt our prayers are answered? There is an old saying that says: “Doubt dies unborn if it’s never spoken.” I tried to find out who said it but it’s anonymous—kind of like Proverbs and the plethora throughout Scripture about doubt and what to do with it. A writer I enjoy is Christine Caine. She says about doubt: “If I can’t agree with God, it’s better to say nothing. Instead, let faith arise in your heart.” Good choice!

So let’s learn about doubt from some of the Scriptures and some other notables:

+ “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Proverbs 18:21 [CBS]
+ “We are often troubled but not crushed–sometimes in doubt but never in despair. 2 Cor 4:8 [GNT]
+ “But they should ask in faith, with no doubts. A person who doubts is like a wave of the sea which the wind blows and tosses about.”  James 1:16 [NTFE]

+ “Our careless lives set the outer world talking; and we give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity itself.” [C.S. Lewis]
+ “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith.” [Paul Tillich]
+ “We need to teach how doubt is not to be feared but welcomed. [Richard Feynman]
+ “To doubt God is to doubt one’s own conscience, and in consequence, it would be to doubt everything; and then what is life for? [Jose Rizal]

So, here is something that I’ve learned from my parents and many others: “God knows how important our words are and the power they can release both for life and for death.” Remember when God instructed the Israelites to march silently around the city of Jericho for six days, then on the seventh day, to march around it seven times while the priests blew horns, followed by a great shout that caused the walls to fall. Joshua explicitly commanded the people to not make a sound until instructed, highlighting the importance of obedience from God. One can wonder about their doubts? It seemed ridiculous—marching around the city as if the people didn’t know they’re there! But their faith won over their doubt and on that 7th day they shouted and trumpets were heard everywhere and those walls came down.

So my question for us is: ‘Are you cursing your walls and then expecting God to bless what you curse’? I know that sounds kind of mean, but that is what happens when we embrace doubt instead of embracing the faith God has put in us and the faith that God will take care of us.

My maternal grandmother was an incredible woman—filled with joy all the time. She loved us kids and those on the block. So when the tornado horn went off when we were playing in the backyard, she grabbed us and went down into the cellar saying. “Hold hands and pray with me: “Lord, we have no doubts that you will keep us safe whether in here or up in heaven, Amen.” (She was quick with words and no long sentences!) I’ll never forget that and so did the kids who told their parents about her prayer and they thanked her over and over.

I want that “no-doubt-mind” of my Grandma, how about you? Just remember the words “Doubt dies unborn if it’s never spoken–let faith arise in your heart instead.” Give God your doubts, he’ll heal them and give you a new perspective. Nuff said, AMEN.