Inescapable Doubt

Doubt. It's an infection. It's something that plagues us all in seemingly every area of our lives. For some it only makes a brief visit, but for others it can fester in miserable ways. What is doubt, and why does it have so much power? Why can it sometimes begin to break down some of the most sturdy things in our lives? We can find assurance that we are not the only people to experience doubt. Every generation that came before us did as well. Specifically, I'm reminded of the story of the Exodus in the Bible.

To set the stage, God called Moses to return to Egypt (the land where he was raised). He was to return to free the Israelites from slavery, of which they've been under for hundreds of years. God ultimately leads the Israelites out via ten very specific plagues and through the Red Sea on foot. Even after seeing this the Israelites begin to doubt saying, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death" (Exodus 16:3). Not only do they doubt God, but they accuse Him of evil. They believe he brought them out to kill them. How could they believe such a thing so soon after the miraculous events that brought them out of captivity? They walked on the floor of the Red Sea for crying out loud! As soon as adversity and trouble set in, they hopped ship. They doubted God's faithfulness.

The answer to how they could doubt is actually quite simple. It dives into the essence of doubt. Simply put, the source of doubt is found in giving more weight to the present than the past and the future. The Israelites had seen God perform great miracles, but they gave more weight to the hunger pains in their stomachs. They continue to do this throughout the Exodus time and time again. It's not just them though. We do this too! Think about the last time you doubted God, or anybody for that matter. What were the present circumstances? Doubt usually comes in times of pain and struggle. It's that present anguish that disables the mind from remembering past faithfulness, love, etc, which leads to the production of doubt.

You see, we must live in the present, but not at the expense of remembering the past or hoping for the future. We must not dwell in the present. Emotions are strongest in the present, which gives the present an artificial weight. Let us recognize this reality and fight against it. Let us remember the feeling of the wet sand of the Red Sea beneath our feet. Let us remember the taste of sweet manna in our mouths. Let us remember those personal and intimate signs of God in our lives. Let us trust in the desert. Let us hope in the LORD.

I love what the father of the demon possessed boy in Mark 9 asks of Jesus. He says, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief." Let us be like that man. Let us choose to see the obvious, big picture and not be blinded by present circumstance and emotion. Let us pray for greater belief.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." ~Psalm 27:14