Doubt – anything but chips
Series: Metamorphosis | Bible text: Philippians 2:14–16
Doubts can be encouraging, annoying or dangerous – and even used as a weapon. No wonder doubts also appear in the prayer of Francis of Assisi: «Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, that I may bring faith where doubt threatens».
«Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, that I may bring faith where doubt threatens.» The very fact that Francis of Assisi mentions doubt in his profound prayer shows how close doubt often is to us. If you type the keyword «doubt» into Google, the first place you come to is the Doubt Chips homepage. My sermon this morning has nothing to do with that! Doubts can be signs of insecurity, indecision, scepticism or vacillation between possibilities and opinions. Doubts can paralyse us and in certain life situations even throw us off track completely. Nobody loves such doubts! They torment us and we want to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
Some examples of doubters in the Bible
1.) Already in paradise Satan sowed doubt in the hearts of Adam and Eve. Surely God did not mean it when he told them not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden, otherwise they would die. «You must have misunderstood God! You will not die, on the contrary, you will be like God» he whispered to them. And what happens? They both eat of this tempting fruit.
2.) Abraham received a great promise from God for the future, and then on the journey to Egypt, he suddenly fears for his life. It could be that the Egyptians will kill me so that they can take my beautiful wife away from me. The same fear afflicts him in the land of the Philistines. He becomes a repeat doubter!
3.) His wife Sarah, after a long time of waiting for offspring, doubts the promise from God and she gives Hagar, her maid, to Abraham as a wife, quasi as a surrogate mother.
4.) Moses doubts his abilities. «Go to Pharaoh and talk to him. Lead the people of Israel out of Egypt! That’s a sandal number too big for me. God, please give this job to someone else!»
5.) The 12 scouts who explored the land of Canaan promised by God come back and spread doubt: «The land is fertile and beautiful – but the people are strong – we cannot overpower them!» Joshua and Caleb were the only two who were convinced that God could lead them to this land. 2 against 10, it was hopeless, the whole nation turned to the side of the doubters! That’s how contagious doubt can be!
Do we also know such doubts as they occur here in the Old Testament? Doubts about God’s love! Doubts about God’s protection and preservation. Doubt about God’s promises. Doubt that I can do the job God gives me. Doubt that God can make the impossible come true.
What are your current doubts? You ask God for His opinion, but He doesn’t give you an answer. You are sick, many have prayed for you, but you are still waiting to get better. You have sent out thousands of job applications and you still don’t have a job. You are financially strapped and wondering if you can make ends meet! While reading the Bible, you come across a job where you can only shake your head: «That can’t be, that can’t be!»
Doubts lurk behind many corners. «Where is the good, loving God? Why doesn’t he intervene?» People who are on the journey with Jesus and who consciously want to live their lives with God are often faced with important decisions. They pray that God will guide them. But then they doubt: «Is that God’s voice I heard or the voice of someone else? Is this a sign from God – or not? What is going on that I am so uncertain? Am I doing something wrong?» Questions often lead to doubts.
You also have to see: We humans are very different. Some swim in an ocean of doubts, while on others doubts bounce off like water on oiled skin. Are doubts only bad and evil?
Is there something good about doubt?
A Richard P. Feynman has said: «We absolutely have to leave room for doubt, otherwise there is no progress, no learning. You cannot find out anything new unless you first ask a question. In order to question, you need to doubt!» The good thing about doubt is that it can save us from taking a wrong step; it can steer us onto a good, or even better, path! So it is important that we do not simply suppress doubts, but move them, examine them and seek answers! But we must be careful that they do not cling to us like leeches! Reckless people, «take-it-easy types» for whom doubt is rather a foreign word, are in danger of unreservedly going along with lies or false promises. They pass on everything they pick up in the media unchecked and seduce others with it.
But there are also people who always doubt, critically question everything and only believe what they see. This makes them blind to the spiritual dimension. Everywhere, reason and logic get in their way. Such people find it difficult to engage with God. They need proof like the disciple Thomas who did not believe that Jesus rose from death. Jesus approaches him after his resurrection and shows him his pierced hands and feet. This shows: He is responsive to our doubts. Jesus also loves the doubters. We can turn to him with our doubts; we can ask him for clarity and insight.
Doubts are no reason to throw faith overboard. Trust that God can handle your doubts. He helps you to hold on to your faith and trust him. «I believe, help my unbelief» asked a father who brought his son to Jesus for healing. Or John the Baptist, imprisoned by the Romans, sent his disciples to Jesus asking, «Are you really the one to come, or shall we wait for another?» John is confused. Suddenly there is doubt! When he baptised Jesus at the Jordan, it was as clear as day to him: «This is the Messiah I have been waiting for. Now, in prison, John has the greatest doubts. Is it really him – or not? Jesus can do miracles, but where is my miracle? Shouldn’t I be a free man by now? Does this reproachful question sound familiar to you: «Jesus you can do miracles, but where is my miracle?» If you have no idea what doubt is and what doubters are like, you can read the Bible. You will meet them there again and again. Why? Because the Bible describes people like you and me!
At the same time, the Bible testifies to how God often dealt patiently and understandingly with doubters. The Gideon story in the book of Judges is a unique testimony to this. It is worth reading in the book of Judges, chapters 6 and 7! Gideon needed a sign from God for pretty much every step of his mission, sometimes two. Sometimes God didn’t even wait for Gideon to ask for a sign; he gave it to him without being asked! I’m sure you’ve experienced this too, God giving you an encouraging sign without you praying for it! That’s our fascinating God!
What can help us?
In the book «Jesus unplugged» by Rob Bell, I read about a church that once organised a «Night of Doubt». People were allowed to write all their questions and doubts about God and the world, about Jesus, the Bible and faith on slips of paper and bring them to church. «Why does God let people die who are still so young? Why do people of faith die of cancer? Why doesn’t God give me an answer?» Then they shared and prayed about it; individually or in groups.
The Pharisee Nicodemus also once had such a night of doubt! He got up and went to Jesus in the middle of the night! Do the same! The author sums up the subject of doubt in his book like this: «What helps us is permission to express our deepest doubts.» Let your doubts out! What doesn’t help us is if we just give in to our doubts! James is of the same opinion when he writes in his letter:» …he who doubts is like a wave of the sea which – whipped up by the wind – is driven here one time and then there the next. Such a person should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord, for he is divided in his innermost being, and his inconstancy comes out in everything he undertakes» (James 1:6–8 NGÜ).
I still have to say: there are real and fake doubters! The real doubters want to get rid of them; they believe in change, they are open for answers, they search and ask for solutions. The unreal doubters hold on to their doubts like a creed. They do not want to let go of their doubts because they use them to justify their unbelief, for example. Otherwise they would have to believe, but they don’t want to change their conviction, their behaviour. Everything is «bico bello». No problem! But actually they should ask themselves: What kind of faith is behind my unbelief, behind my conviction, behind my doubts?
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, a man of the 18th century, said: «With most people, unbelief in one thing is based on blind faith in another. Meaning in plain language: «If you don’t believe in God or the Bible, for example, what you believe is usually based on blind faith.» Yes – what helps us? The mind? A strong will? A good feeling? The theologian Hans Küng says that faith is not simply a matter of the intellect, the will or the feeling, but: «Christian faith is rather an unconditional trusting commitment and reliance of the whole person with all the powers of his spirit on the Christian message and on the one who is announced with it.» Part of this engagement is that we patiently face our doubts because we do not simply tolerate them, but want to approach them with God’s help and get rid of them. Doubts of faith are also there to be faced together, to wrestle with others and to overcome them. This is where good relationships are helpful. What doubters need are starry nights in which they can orient themselves by the stars.
Paul writes in Philippians: «These stars are us! In all that you do, beware of dissatisfied grumbling and suspicious doubts. Then your lives will be bright and spotless, and you will shine like stars in the night as God’s exemplary children in the midst of this corrupt and dark world. For this you must steadfastly hold on to the Word of Life». (Philippians 2:14–16 Hfa) .
Let us not forget this last sentence! Amen!
Possible questions for the small groups
Read the Bible text: Philippians 2:14–16
- Do any other biblical doubters come to mind? How differently did God respond to them?
- Tell each other about your bigger and smaller doubts! How did you feel about it?
- Who are you quickest to doubt, God, other people or yourself?
- How do you deal with your doubts? What helps you?
- Do doubts also have positive sides?
- How can one fight with doubts and «finish» others?
- What are your experiences with «asking God for a sign»?
