Tell Out My Soul

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” 

Doubt and lack of confidence often attacks a person when they are at a low ebb, sometimes when life’s stresses become unbearable and often when there is illness or fatigue. When we are at our weakest, the enemy will move in. Doubt is insidious because it can erode our faith and dilute our passion for God.

I recently attended a funeral which was marred by the celebrant’s proselytising; it was definitely the wrong time and place to be carrying out this kind of preaching. Seeking converts at a funeral, in my mind, was quite inappropriate and damaging. Several of the attendees even walked out half way through his talk. But apart from his error of judgement in this regard, this pastor also made the error of hinging his message on the fact that because Luke was interested in recording events accurately, that the Gospel of Luke was historically accurate, and this is the reason that we should believe in the death, resurrection and saving grace of the Lord. He was trying to convince non-believers of the truth of Jesus dying and rising by resorting to the consideration of written historical texts alone. This is the least effective way to convince people. For one thing, faith comes through grace, and a person has to be in the right place, spiritually, to allow this faith to take hold and grow. Secondly, you can tell someone at length, or write at length, about a reality that you understand, but most people will need evidence of a concrete nature, not just hearsay. People need to see for themselves. This is evident in the story of Thomas. He did not believe in the resurrection until Jesus himself came to him, in the flesh so to speak, to show him. Thomas didn’t rely on what the disciples told him.

Faith in Jesus is more than just a matter of accepting historical documentation, it’s a feeling, a power that is difficult to put into words, and it comes from outside of ourselves. We can’t just “think” ourselves into a state of unyielding belief. But faith can be assailed. Unfortunately while historical evidence does not induce faith, hearsay and commentary from the outside, designed to dismantle belief, can chip away at it when we are weak or vulnerable. We are exposed to this kind of tearing down of faith from atheist quarters on a regular basis. And then there is also the type of doubt that is internally generated, in dark solitary moments.

The answer to the issue of doubt is simple… it’s prayer. Constant, honest, fervent prayer. If we ask God for his help, he will answer our prayer. When we, during dark moments of doubt, lay ourselves open to God through his Son, we place ourselves in the right spiritual space to allow the influence of the Spirit to ease our minds, fill our hearts and strengthen our faith.