Tag: doubt

God to us: Where were you when…

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Job 38 is a good reminder that God is God and we are not. While it is ok to get mad at God, question Him, or even doubt, in the end we come to this conclusion: God is God and we are not. It is extremely hard to accept “I am God” as the reason for something happening. Even with all his questioning, Job did not sin. In his trial God clearly wanted Job to know that “I am God” more than the reason why.

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge ? 3 “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me! 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth ? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements ? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 “On what were its bases sunk ? Or who laid its cornerstone , 7 When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? 8 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb ; 9 When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, 10 And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, 11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther ; And here shall your proud waves stop ‘?

12 “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, 13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? 14 “It is changed like clay under the seal ; And they stand forth like a garment. 15 “From the wicked their light is withheld, And the uplifted arm is broken. 16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep ? 17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness ? 18 “Have you understood the expanse of the earth ? Tell Me, if you know all this. 19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light ? And darkness, where is its place, 20 That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home ? 21 “You know, for you were born then, And the number of your days is great ! 22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, 23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle ? 24 “Where is the way that the light is divided, Or the east wind scattered on the earth ? 25 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt , 26 To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it, 27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout ? 28 “Has the rain a father ? Or who has begotten the drops of dew ? 29 “From whose womb has come the ice ? And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth ? 30 “Water becomes hard like stone, And the surface of the deep is imprisoned. 31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, Or loose the cords of Orion ? 32 “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites ? 33 “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or fix their rule over the earth ? 34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, So that an abundance of water will cover you? 35 “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go And say to you, ‘Here we are’? 36 “Who has put wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind ? 37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom, Or tip the water jars of the heavens, 38 When the dust hardens into a mass And the clods stick together ? 39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, 40 When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair ? 41 “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food ?

The bottom line:
Are we ok with God being God? Can we accept that?

Faith is not the absence of doubt

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At BBC there is the all holy seminary reading room. It’s a humorous title, it’s just the seminary room. One day we were brought into this room. I do not remember which professor it was, but I do remember the warning:

“Many of the books in this room were written by men who knew more about the Bible then some of you ever will, but they missed the point.”

It perplexed me that many of the Bible study tools we have today were built on the work of those ho actually doubted the Bible or doubted inspiration and inerrancy. How can doubt produce coldness to God in once sense, and bring others closer? I don’t know, and hence I’m perplexed.

I do not think scholarship, reason or doubt is the enemy. I do not think giving up these things in the name of faith, pragmatism or focusing on what is most important is biblical. Let me give an analogy for each:

Faith: We sit in many chairs without seeing them first verifying they will hold us up. I say that as I sat in my kitchen chair one day and it collapsed underneath me.

Pragmatism: There is nothing pragmatic about romance. ‘Nuff said.

The biggest thing: Coffee brings me great joy in life, but it’s not the meaning of life. (Though, enjoying it does help ponder the larger things in life.)

Often in churches we get very nervous when someone questions or doubts. We get more nervous when someone declares their doubts. In our quest for Christ likeness, do we forget Thomas- one of the foundation stones to the church. Saul was a doubter. The Roman centurion was not. Is one better than the other? I think not.

The Bible has stories of doubters. I do not think doubt is the enemy of faith, but squelching doubt is. The trial by fire for each human is different. For some it will be life circumstance, others pride, addictions to some and some it will be doubt. People will succeed or fail in these challenges.

Truth is truth. If the Bible is fully truth, as I believe and I am convinced of, then in the end truth will prevail. And if we fear those who doubt, or worse question whether they are really saved in the first place, then we poison the situation. The Bible makes it very clear that salvation is solely a work of God and kept by God. The Bible makes very clear that humans will doubt.

Is our faith in God or in people who don’t doubt? Do we believe salvation is by faith or in people who do not sin? How we approach issues can prevent the ability to help or open the door to greater depths of our faith. Which is more important to us and God? Yes, God gets frustrated by doubt. God also gives them an answer in due time. The bigger issue is pursuing God.

The Bottom line:
Squelching doubt is an odd form of denying the power of God. Like any other challenge in life, we should treat doubters with love, patience and respect. Not from  superiority and they are wrong, but a human understanding that each person has their own trial by fire… Let’s be honest, we all at times have doubts. God knows that.

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13