Dealing With Doubts
I used to think that it was wrong to admit doubt. If it is impossible to please God without faith, as Hebrews 11:6 says, wouldn’t it displease him if I let him know that I struggle with doubt? Then I met a man named Habakkuk.
This prophet in Old Testament Israel encountered a personal dilemma not unlike that of Asaph in Psalms 73. After repeatedly calling out to God to do something about the violence and injustice in his society, it seemed that nothing ever changed. Perhaps God didn’t even care about what was happening around him? Although Habakkuk had dedicated his life to promoting spiritual change in his society, it seemed like God was not doing his part (Habakkuk 1:2-4).
I appreciate Habakkuk’s honest writing because I can relate to how he felt. There are times where it feels like I have done everything I can and God is just not pulling his weight. Why doesn’t he move? Why doesn’t he respond to the needs that have been placed before him? When life is not turning out as hoped, can he see and understand what that is like?
If Habakkuk, a spokesman for God, had these questions and was unafraid to admit them, and if God saw fit to include this writing in the Scriptures, isn’t it possible that doubt-producing questions are a natural part of our Christian experience? Perhaps God is waiting for us to ask about that which troubles us the most.
God’s initial answer to Habakkuk was not what he had hoped to hear (Habakkuk 1:5-11). Not only was God quite aware of the violence and injustice in Israel, he was already in the process of sending Babylonian invaders as punishment upon the nation. Although he had hoped that God would do something, this was not Habakkuk had in mind. It seemed ironic that the God who was too pure to even look at evil, could send people as awful as the Babylonians to punish those who were better than them (Habakkuk 1:12-17).
There are things that happen in our world that seem too hard to understand. Where is justice when a beautiful and caring girl like Chelsea King goes missing during an afternoon jog? Why did a massive earthquake have to devastate Haiti by striking at the place where it was most vulnerable? While Haiti continues to grieve and the world looks for ways to aid recovery, why did at least another 700 people have to die and 2 million be displaced by a massive earthquake in Chile?
Habakkuk’s story can encourage us to share our doubts with God in prayer. He also demonstrate the heart attitude that we need to bring to God with our complaints. When the prophet has asked his difficult questions, he says, “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint” (Habakkuk 2:1).
Habakkuk trusts that God will answer his doubts and quiets himself so that he can listen for God’s reply. The picture of him climbing up the city walls and gazing out from where watchmen kept an eye out for the city, is meant to give us the sense of one who looks expectantly for God’s answer.
Bringing our doubts to God, we can trust that in his time he will answer the questions that he sees fit and give us grace for that which remains mysterious. Rather than hiding from our doubts or trying to ignore them, let’s bring them to his attention and look for his answers.
Andy Johnson