A Life Worth Living

Doubt doesn’t always start full throttle. It starts small, like a tiny pin prick. 

On one of our morning rides my husband Ben was sharing with me some incredible stories about the power of prayer. He planned to share some of these in a talk later that day. In one of the stories, he shared how the Lord had revealed to a praying mother the whereabouts of her wayward son. He was at a bar and was shocked to hear the bar owner tell him his mom was on the phone for him. It sounded so incredible that it felt almost unbelievable. When Ben finished with this story I said to him, “honey that’s way out there… maybe that’s not the story to share.

Those words rolled off my tongue before I could stop them and as my husband listened to me, he reminded me that just because it sounded way out there doesn’t mean that God couldn’t have done it. As soon as he said that, I had this gut check. Intellectually I affirmed that God can do anything. He answers prayer, but, my comment exposed the doubts in my heart. These doubts expressed themselves through my cynicism. Consider this quote from Louise Penny,

“How the rot started. How it happened, not overnight, but by degrees. A small doubt broke the skin. Then an infection set in. Questioning. Critical.  Cynical. Distrustful “

The subtle forms of doubt left unchecked, can be deadly. Hebrews puts it this way that distrust and unbelief can eventually lead a believer to turn away from God ( Heb 3:12) So how do we push back on doubt ?

1. Warn each other ( 3:13). Warnings can be as simple as reminding someone the truth and not allowing them to be deceived. What my husband did for me that day was a gentle reminder, a warning.
2. Abide in God’s word. His word is truth. What we know about God from His word- His character, His deeds, is True. In our fallen existence we have not yet experienced all that God is but one day we will.

Doing the above is a lifetime endeavor. When you find yourself cynical, critical, distrustful it’s worth exploring the why and fighting any seeds of doubt.