A recent Barna research release indicates that
approximately two-thirds of Christians have or currently face periods of doubt
with regard to their faith and relationship with the Lord. Precedent for dominating doubt goes all the way
back to the first century, One of Jesus’
specially chosen apostles would be forever nick-named “Doubting Thomas” because
he refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he could
personally see and touch him.
According to church tradition, Thomas overcame his
doubts and eventually took the Gospel of Christ to the Indian subcontinent in
AD 52, ministering in what are the present-day states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There
he baptized the first Christians of that region, founding what is now known as
the Mar Thoma Church.
How should Christians today deal with their
doubts? We no longer have the Lord
physically present to reassure our wavering faith and dispel our doubts as did
the Apostle Thomas. But we do have a
secure foundation upon which to rest our faith, quell our fears, and satisfy
our questions. And that is the biblical
revelation of the character and purposes of God.
The Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonian
Christians that God would ensure their establishment in the faith. Furthermore, He would protect them from the onslaught of attacks from the evil one,
designed to disrupt and destroy their faith in the Lord (2 Thess. 3:3). Similarly, the Apostle Jude, using the same
Greek word, assures his readers that God is able to keep them from stumbling in their faith and to eventually present
them in a sinless, perfected state on the Day of Resurrection.
Left to our own strength and wills, we would have
reason to worry and doubt our ability to follow the Lord to the end of this
earthly pilgrimage. But, thankfully, our
long-term spiritual welfare rests upon the promises God has made to His own,
not upon our own ability to navigate the temptations and spiritual minefields
of this world. So take heart, Christian,
our faithful God will never give up on you.
