Jude 22 (ESV) And have mercy on those who doubt;
Our most basic charge as Christians: Trust him. Trust the Lord who made us, loves us and cares for us.
And every day we demonstrate how difficult we find that trust to be. We overflow with doubt.
Doubt shows itself in obvious ways. For example, the person who begins to wonder whether God really exists or whether Jesus really rose from the dead.
But doubt shows itself in so many other ways. When we worry that some development of life is out of control—that is us doubting God’s sovereignty. When we fear that God’s decisions will do us harm—that is us doubting God’s goodness. When we kick and rebel against God’s Law—that is us doubting God’s wisdom.
When we really consider our lives, don’t we see one constant string of doubting God’s character and promises? Our God is the definition of trustworthy. All that he requires of us is that we trust him—yet we struggle so hard to do even that.
Faced with our total failure to trust him in the most basic ways, we can rejoice in this good news: Our God shows mercy to those who doubt him.
He does not walk away offended when we doubt him. He does not bear a grudge because of the awful things we have thought about him. He is merciful to those who doubt. That is to say, he is merciful to you and to me.
So we turn back from our unbelieving doubt once more. We turn from our fears and suspicions about him. We embrace the truth and the goodness of who he really is.
Do not doubt him anymore. He is worth trusting. But when you do, remember, he is merciful to those who doubt.
This article was originally published at https://www.dayspringreno.com/blog/the-god-of-doubters on August 15, 2022.
Jason Ching (MA, Westminster Seminary California) is a pastor at Dayspring Church in Reno, NV. He is husband to Naomi and father of three.
Note: The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of other contributors on this site.