We all know what it is to have doubts. But sometimes as Christians we may feel that it is wrong to have doubts about the things that we believe, or that we shouldn't question the things we once were certain of. After all - if we have faith how can we have doubts?
But doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive. They are different sides of the same coin. Because of the nature of faith, a certain level of doubt at times is inevitable. In Mark 9:24 we read 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief'. Faith and doubt.
This week we look at a passage in which John the Baptist wasn't sure that Jesus was the Messiah (Luke 7:18-35). Jesus did not fit the expectations of the hoped for Messiah, so although John was confident that Jesus had come from God, he had doubts over the claims that Jesus was the promised Messiah. And Jesus responds by encouraging John to look at the evidence (in the light of what the OT said about the Messiah - Isaiah 61:1-2) and make up his own mind.
We experience doubts for a variety of reasons. But often it is because our experience of life, our understanding of God, and the way we have interpreted the Bible do not match up. For example, we have always believed that if we pray then God will heal the sick - but then in our experience this doesn't happen; or we believe that God will always give us what we need - and then we lose our job. And then various doubts start to creep in. When this happens we need to do what John did. To go back to the evidence (our experience and the Bible) and work through our doubts to a point where our faith is strengthened.
Faith needs to be linked to actions - what we believe will affect the way we behave. Part of what it means to have faith is to act as though I was certain, even in my doubt. So if I am going through a period where I doubt even the existence of God, I still choose to make choices based on the belief in a loving God.
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