Comments (3)

By Paula Marolewski, August 25, 2009 7:56 pm

Dear Friend,

I want to encourage you that doubt and questioning are a normal part of maturing in your Christian faith. For many people, it’s the “rite of passage” that brings them from believing because they’ve been told, to believing because they know. In fact, I would say it’s not only normal, but it’s healthy.

For my own part, doubt and questioning have been an integral part of my growth in my faith. And I have to tell you this: I still struggle with periods of doubt. They come now and then, shaking me to my core, and making me re-examine what I believe. But through it all, God has proven himself faithful, good, and true – and has used these scary periods of time to strengthen me, increasing my knowledge of Scripture and my understanding of himself.

This is a scary period in your life. It’s not a comfortable thing to have the ground ripped out from under you – I know. So let me make bold to give you some anchor points to help you as you feel tossed about:

First, approach your doubt with prayer. This may seem almost a contradiction in terms, because God is the very Person you are doubting. So what? If he’s not there, he can’t answer. If he is there, he will be pleased to answer the honest seeker’s prayer. If he’s there and doesn’t want to answer an honest prayer, he wouldn’t be a God you’d want to serve, anyway. So pray: tell him you’re not sure he’s even there. Ask him to show you the truth. Remember: God can handle your questions. This period in your life comes as no surprise to him. Don’t be afraid to pray.

Second, keep reading the Bible. You see, it’s very easy in periods of doubt to throw out the Bible and stop praying and cease going to church and all the rest of it – because you’re questioning all those things. But that means you are not giving God an honest chance to demonstrate to you that Christianity is true. If you doubt and question, and only feed your mind with philosophies and books and conversations that are anti-Christian, you’re going to “load the dice” in favor of a non-Christian decision. Don’t kid yourself: we’re very easily swayed by what we take in – and if we take in 100% of a certain idea for a long enough time, we’re going to believe it’s true – simply because we don’t have any input presenting an alternative view. If you really want to know the truth, then you have to be fair in your search for it.

Third, journal your thoughts. Keep it private and safe, so that you can be honest in the journal. But it’s important to write things down, because when you’re feeling tossed about in your thoughts and beliefs, it’s hard to think straight. I know that from long experience. But when you write it down, you can at least look at your questions in black and white, and review what your thoughts are and what you’ve learned. That helps you think with your mind, rather than with your emotions – which right now are pulling you in every direction.

As a final word of advice: Don’t rush this process. This is going to take time. It should. It’s serious business, and you are asking serious questions. Take the time you need. If that means months of reading and researching and asking questions, then take those months. God will be with you every step of the way.

I’ve been where you are. I understand how hard it is. And I’ve come through it with my feet on solid ground. You will, too.

In Christ,

Paula

© 2009 Paula Marolewski, www.SinkYourRoots.com

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By Paula Marolewski, August 18, 2009 2:03 pm

This morning, I read of Jesus’ temptation, as recorded in Luke 4. Consider these verses (1-2, 13-14):

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil …. When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.  And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit …”

Sometimes, I think we forget that Jesus wasn’t tempted with just the specific temptations recorded in the gospels. Those three trials were the culmination of over a month of hellish whispers. He was tempted continuously for forty days – Satan tried everything, the above passage notes. And in Hebrews 4:15, it affirms that Jesus was “tempted in all things.”

But the Holy Spirit brackets the temptation – Jesus was led by the Spirit into this time of testing, and he was filled with the Spirit upon his successful completion of it. And I paused to consider: does God often, or perhaps even always, allow this period of extreme temptation prior to launching a new ministry?

It does make sense. Temptation is a test – not of the mind, but of the heart. It reveals our answers to questions such as:

• Do I trust God even when life seems to be falling apart?
• Will I obey God even when nobody is watching?
• Am I engaging in this ministry for fame and fortune, or for grace and goodness?
• Do I have the determination to persevere through difficulties?
• What or who am I relying on to see me through life?

If you are trying to launch a new ministry, don’t be surprised if you experience delay, doubt, temptation, trial, despair … in fact, a spiritual desert. I know what the wasteland looks like. I know it seems endless, and that you’re hungry for God, thirsty for his Spirit, longing for the touch of Jesus.

The Spirit of God may have led you to this very place, and done so for a very distinct purpose. Trust him. Persevere. Purge your life of sin. Pray without ceasing. Rely entirely upon God and his Word. When you are led out into the place of ministry, it will be “in the power of the Spirit.”

© 2009 Paula Marolewski

www.SinkYourRoots.com

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