What To Do When You Doubt

Intro: In the allegorical book of John Bunyan, Pilgrims Progress, Christian and Hopeful, two pilgrims on a journey to the Celestial City, are imprisoned in Doubting Castle by Giant Despair and his wife Dissident. Suffering physically, mentally and spiritually, Dissident tells Giant Despair to take Christian and Hopeful to the courtyard to see the skulls and bones of those he had already dispatched.

There is a little parable of the Devil selling off tools that he uses in his work. All the tools seemed to be in immaculate condition, save one positioned on a bench. It seemed to be fit for the scrap pile. How much for that tool, asked the man. The Devil responded with an overwhelming price. It seems to worn out. Why such and extravagant price. The Devil responded that is doubt, my most useful tool. If I can make the lost doubt, they never desire to receive Christ. If I can cause the Christian to doubt, their lives are useless. It has been the most successful of all my tools.

Some of us were brought up in a time or environment where we were taught not to doubt, not to question, and not to seek after answers but believe even when you don’t understand why. That was called faith.

The idea of not having doubts is definitely an unbiblical view of life. I call to mind this morning the Biblical record. Adam and Eve doubted God’s goodness and love. Abraham doubted God care. Samson doubted God’s direction, David doubted God provision. John the Baptist doubted in prison, Jesus questioned in the Garden. Thomas, well he was hung with the title doubting Thomas.

If you are here today and said I never struggle with doubt nor have I ever doubted, come back next week we are going to talk about truthfulness!!

What Doubt Does In Our Lives;

Doubt Can Maroon You In Disbelief

In Doubting Castle, Christian and Hopeful were Marooned.

If you remember the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks was stranded on an island. For those of you a little more mature, Gilligan’s Island may be a better example. They were stranded! cut off! Their life stopped moving forward. You could almost say that their existence was pointless.

How did we get Marooned in Doubt?

Unmet expectations. I mean I think all the disciples had something different in mind of how this was going to play out. I have experienced doubt at times when things did not turn out the way I thought that they would. When my expectations were not realized. So, i drift off and get marooned. I get stuck because I think God doesn’t care, He doesn’t love me, He didn’t call me, He is not using me, He hasn’t equipped me. Am I even saved? How could he love someone with so many questions. Marooned in Doubt traps you, it renders you useless.

Extreme circumstances. Jesus had taught the disciples of His death, burial and resurrection. Those extreme circumstances caused Thomas to forget Jesus’ promise. Most likely one of the top exit points from a life of faith is when we experience extreme circumstances. Life has overwhelmed us with some issue. Divorce has pulled pilgrims away from the life of following Christ. Caught in sin, death of a loved one, bankruptcy, college professor with extreme ideas, illness or a sever condition. We could keep adding to this list until we covered every thing we have ever heard as an excuse for giving up, being Marooned. It is very true though, the next time you hear someone say I used to attend church, dial your ears in and you will also hear a reason, extreme circumstance that brought that bout.

Ignoring God’s People. The other disciples were telling Thomas, but he failed to believe. i do not know why Thomas felt that he could not trust what the others were conveying, but he refused. He had excluded himself from the fellowship of that small band of believers. Why well we do not fully know. He missed it because he wasn’t there, and he clearly wanted proof for their story. When we step away from the family of faith, we are alone. It is then that the Devil brings out his favorite tool, Doubt. It is alone, we lose our support team. It is alone we can’t hear the voice of truth. It is alone the road becomes to weary and we are imprisoned in Doubts Castle, Marooned.

Doubt Can Motivate You In Discovery

One of the most exhilarating things as a parent, is to watch your children discover new things. To find that new thing or maybe witnessing them discover how to perform a certain task. It brings joy to us and them. We are proud they are learning and they at the same time, enjoy the discovery.

Nadine has been working with Blakely on letters, sounds and reading. She could identify her name, Mama, and Daddy. We thought maybe she is just remembering what they were working on.

Fast forward to Friday night Blakely and I walk into the grocery store in Honea Path. We are headed to the produce section and pass through the fresh bread and cakes. Blakely stops and is pointing to what I thought was the cakes in the cooler. I say no baby we are going home to eat supper. as I am walking back to her she is making sounds I can’t make them out. When I get there she blurts out BAKERY!! Above the cooler of cakes, in large letters was bakery.

Here is the thing. Doubt can either Maroon you in Disbelief, or it can Motivate you in Discovery.

Look at Thomas. Had he remained Marooned, it would be the end of his story. Synonymous with Judas. But rather, eight days later he is with the others gathered together again. Still talking about the Lord, still praying, still hoping, still expecting, still searching, still motivated to discover what the others were so excited about.

Doubt regretfully causes many to get Marooned, but it Motivates some to to discover the Lord and His truth;

Look how Thomas was Motivated:

He desired first hand experience. Those words “unless I see,” indicate Thomas desire to know, understand, be a part of, to Discover for himself the risen Lord. I know we can learn and grow from the experiences of others, especially in things that are not available to us. There is however something to be said about being motivated to know first hand. I want to read about the great people of faith who in amazing ways discovered the Holy God tat we serve. In prayer great men of faith discovered a God who is there great resource. In faith men and women discovered a faithful God that led them through dark nights and terrible storms of life. Through doubts and fears a faithful God carved out a path of discovering who Jesus is and the blessings of being called His. Even more, beyond the stories, beyond the history, past the recollection of tales, stories of the hymns and songs, I desire to know Christ my savior for me. I think we can be a little selfish in this area. To know Him. I do not want a second hand faith. I do not want hand me down religion, I do not desire to live some else’s life of faith I want to experience Christ for myself. Do you not care to be the one who hands down the stories. Then we must in times of doubt, be Motivated to Discover Him and His truth.

He determined to to find out. Notice verse 26. “after eight days… and Thomas was with them.” We see that Thomas has not abandoned the journey. was it difficult? Yes. Did he have to struggle through some things? Yes. did he feel left out in some way? Probably. But he was determined to discover for himself. If Thomas had been many modern people who profess to be Christian, he would have went home, got an ice cream, and waited for someone to do it for them. Thomas was determined. He is still there.

He enjoyed the fruit of faith. Verse 26 says again, “Jesus came..” Thomas’ motivation to discover for himself paid off. Not only did he verify the claims were true, but “he seen for himself.” His initial desire. The old saying winners never quit and quitters never win holds at least some validity. Can I say something about life, there is no equal to discovering for yourself. You watch someone play an instrument, drive a car, or maybe fly an airplane. You can look at picture of Paris, the Holy Land, or the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. You can hear how delicious the Salmon was in Alaska, the spaghetti was in Tuscany, or the strudel’s were in Germany. But there is no comparison to doing it yourself, going there yourself or tasting for yourself. It is sad that many Christians live on the faith of some other pilgrim. Maybe it was mama, daddy, grandma, grandpa, some other person of faith. Jesus did not condemn Thomas, I rather think he favored Thomas’ quest to experience himself the truth of the Lord.

Psalm 43:8 demonstrates well what our motivation should be when we are in the face of doubt. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Don’t be afraid to desire your own experience, be Determined to discover for yourself, and enjoy the fruits of true searching faith.

Doubt Can Multiply You In Devotion

One thing that we see with the disciples is that they grew, their faith and devotion was multiplied. They began this journey with Jesus probably attracted to His teachings.

We have seen their struggles and failures.

It is as if we have witnessed their growing up, like a neighborhood kid. Now we begin to see the men they have transformed into.

Thomas Realization was Multiplied. Verse 27, “reach here with you finger and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side;” Not only does Thomas see the risen Christ, he begins to realize what exactly Jesus went through. Touching the nail pierced hands, thrusting his hand to Jesus pierced side. You see after all the teaching, all the examples, and prophetic parables, it is now coming together for the disciples. You see it takes time and working out, kneading like bread. One thing is true if we deal with doubt correctly, we will grow into realizing the magnitude of the sacrifice made. When you started your job, regardless of your traing, college, or preparation for that field, you grew and realized more and more through the struggle of learning. Doubt is a powerful tool of the Devil for real, but it can also be a catalyst to becoming what God intended you to be.

Thomas’ Understanding was Multiplied. One of the things in manufacturing and other fields is the idea of lean. It comes out of Japan and was developed in the Toyota factory to enhance production, quality and creativity. One section of that is to fail fast. If you do things even if you know they will fail, you learn sand your understanding of the process grows. Look at it this way, Doubts are questions you have. You can choose to let that question trip you up and maroon you in disbelief, or you can allow it to expand your understanding of Christ, biblical truth or living out the Christian life. Lee Strobel is good example of this. Strobel was an atheist. A journalist. He had questions and decided to really disprove Christianity. He set out on an investigative journey, only to discover Christ as his savior. Strobel is now one of the leading apologist in Christianity. When we have a doubt, That is not failure. It is an opportunity to Multiply your understanding.

3. Thomas Allegiance was Multiplied. I think this is the greatest move of doubt. We can grow in knowledge, understanding, even service, but when our allegiance is Multiplied, that is the hallmark. Thomas professes “My Lord and my God.” Thomas is no longer on the fringes. He is no longer following along. He is not just part of the crowd. In that confession Thomas says I am ready to give it all. In fact Thomas will do just that. From hillside as a listener, aboard a boat on the lake, a witness to the miraculous Christ performing miracles, he now will take the mantle of the Gospel onward.

The old hymn, “Onward Christian soldier, marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ the royal mast leads against the foe, forward into battle, see His banner go!

Concl:

I’ve relayed the story of Charles Templeton, contemporary of Billy Graham. He was considered to be the next great evangelist. Doubts about God however led him to abandon any such ministry. He lived his remaining years as an atheist. Confronted with doubts and questions, he was Marooned in Disbelief and there He became a victim in Doubts Castle.

Rev. Bliyy Graham, some years into his ministry faced what he called the most troubling time of his life. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the validity of the Bible had been strongly contested. It accuracy questioned. It had been changed and could not be trusted.

Graham remember how he was deep;y troubled, even called it anguish. He stood at a pivitol; time. Would he be another Charles Templeton? Graham recalled withdrawing and spending time in prayer, and Discovering, in his doubts the beauty and accuracy, and trustworthiness of the Scripture.

When Graham unlocked the doors of Doubting Castle, he said I never looked back. His allegiance had been multiplied.

This is what I want you to hear today. When you have doubts, there are two distinct choices. You let it Maroon you or let it motivate you to Discovery. One choice leads to the courtyard of skulls and bones of those who have been dispatched, the other opens a path of Discovering Jesus Christ and Multiplying our Allegiance.