Good Thinking: Dealing with doubt

It was doubt that got us all into trouble! Adam and Eve resided in Paradise; they had it all. They had more than enough food and shelter; they received more than enough love and acceptance from God; they enjoyed the satisfaction of working alongside God; they were surrounded by the protective limits God had set. But Satan planted doubts in their minds – Eve: “God said that we can’t touch the Tree.” Satan: “Nah! He didn’t really mean it; maybe God’s trying to hide something from you. Go ahead and eat.” The seed-of-doubt grew into the tree-of-desire. Eve and Adam disobeyed God because they doubted God!

When we think of doubts, we think of Thomas. Thomas was a sane and sensible man living in a sane and sensible world. Suddenly, it seemed that his world had become insane. Word came to Thomas that the One who had been crucified, the One whose body had been placed in a sealed tomb, was now alive again! How does one fit this fact into the workings of a sane and sensible world? One doubts! Thomas did not believe the news; he wanted proof – just as we all do. Thomas was forced to face the fact of Jesus’ resurrection – as we all must. Thomas’ whole world dramatically changed – just as our world does. As he encountered the risen Christ, Thomas discovered the value of honest doubt – as we all should. And his doubts caused his faith to become stronger!

What does doubt look like? The New Testament uses three words to describe doubt: diakrino, aporeo, and distozo. Diakrino means to discriminate. We should look carefully at all the news we receive; we must study all the facts in order to arrive at the truth. We are not to accept everything we see or hear or feel as “gospel truth” until we check things out for ourselves – discriminate. Aporeo means to be perplexed, to be at a loss.

When Thomas heard that Jesus had risen from the grave, he was perplexed, he was at a loss to make sense out of such senseless news. Distozo means to waver in one’s opinion. Thomas wanted to believe that Jesus was alive again, wanted to believe in resurrection. Instead, he doubted. After all, things like that had never happened before. Resurrection just didn’t happen in a sane and sensible world.

Constructive doubt. (1) Henry Drummons writes: “Doubt is a part of every man as God made him.” We are born with a million unanswered questions. We are restless until we find some answers. (2) Doubt is a prelude to knowledge and truth. We come to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding as we follow our doubts, our curiosity, our questioning, our desire to know more. (3) The world is a riddle to be solved. God created an intricate universe; He alone fully understands it all. Yet, God gave us a mind to be used in unraveling all the intricacies. Doubt is the key. (4) The instruments we use in our search for truth are all imperfect, due to our sinfulness, and our separation from the Truth. (5) All “truths” are doubt-able.

We know but a minute part of God’s universes. We see merely a small portion of God’s wondrous works. We experience but a minor portion of all the possible experiences. We glimpse merely a limited number of God’s truths. We are to learn Constructive Doubt – learn to ask the right questions; learn to think things through; learn to continue searching until we come to that Greater Truth.

Doubting can lead to a deeper dedication! Thomas stood facing undeniable facts: Jesus had died; Jesus had been buried; Jesus was now alive. Thomas couldn’t deny the fact of what he saw and heard and felt. His doubts gave way to a greater dedication to the Christ: “You are indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life! You were dead, and now you’re alive. I will dedicate my life to serving you!”

Life is a jig-saw puzzle, made up of a million-and-one experiences. At first, we put several pieces together; as life unfolds, we put more of the pieces in place; eventually, we begin to see a more complete picture of Life.

As long as God gives us life, we will be searching for more truths. Truth never comes all a once; our entire lifetime is spent in uncovering more of God’s truths. Honest doubting is a necessary part of discovering what life is really all about. Honest doubts are the key ingredient to a stronger faith in God. Don’t be afraid to express your doubts. Don’t back away from asking penetrating questions. Don’t accept everything as being “gospel truth” until you check it out for yourself!