Dealing with Doubt

I hope you had a great Easter. I was raised in a Christian home, and I have celebrated Easter as long as I can recall. I became a Believer at a young age, and for that I am thankful. Because of my upbringing and because of my faith, I have never doubted The Easter Story. I believe in Jesus with all my heart; in fact, I've rarely wrestled with any kind of a doubt at all.

But today I want to talk to those who may have some doubts. Maybe you're going through tough times. I want you to see something in Scripture that is so healing to those who struggle with doubt.

You know him as John the Baptist, or John the baptizer. John was born to a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a cousin to Jesus's mother, Mary. The story of John's birth is found in the first chapter of Luke. We're told that Elizabeth was Barren and the couple was getting on in years.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and said that God was blessing them with a special son. Let me read this from Luke chapter 1, beginning at verse 13. "The angel said to him, do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been answered. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You'll have joy and gladness, and many Will Rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He'll turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

30 years later after his birth, John is all grown up and preaching about the Messiah. You likely know that Jesus himself came to John to be baptized. Jesus said this about John in Matthew 11:11. "I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist."

You may be asking, what does this have to do with doubt? Did you know that John struggled with doubt, of all people? Let me tell you what happened. John became an enemy of King Herod for simply telling the truth about a horrible situation that Herod was causing. Herod threw John into jail.

I'll pick up the story in Matthew 11, beginning in verse 2. "When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" John is in a storm. He's under attack. He's disappointed, he's perplexed. His life hasn't turned out the way he thought it would, and he asked questions that seem to come from doubt: are you the Messiah or not?

Let's look at the answer that Jesus gave him in Matthew 11, beginning at verse 4. "Jesus answered, go and tell John what you hear and what you see: the blind received their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the death here, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

You know, Jesus could have easily said to John's disciples, I can't believe it. John, of all people, is questioning me? What's the matter with him? How can he have doubt? Tell him to get a grip. But notice here that Jesus didn't do that at all, did he? Jesus simply gave an answer to help John refocus.

Let me re-read Matthew 11, beginning in verse 4. "Jesus answered them, go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind received their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

Jesus loved and forgave John. Jesus loves us as he loved John. He can handle our questions. God's love reaches out to the doubting and to the confused.

Hamas Obadiah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1866. He began to teach school at the age of 16, and at 27 he became a Christian. He was in bad Health most of his life. He couldn't keep a job; he bounced around from teaching to Insurance to preaching. He had a lot of ups and mostly Downs.

Why do you think he's remembered? A crime? A horrible deed? No. Thomas is known today for being a poet and a hymn writer. His favorite scripture motivated him, from Lamentations chapter 3, beginning of verse 20. I'll quote from there. "I will never forget this awful time as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."

He wrote the well-known hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness. He had to get out from under all of his doubt and all of his problems and look to God. If you're struggling with doubt, remember John the Baptist. Jesus sure loved him. Remember that God loves you. Let him strengthen your faith.

Let's pray together. Father, for those that are going through tough times and maybe even having some doubt, I pray that you would lift them up, that the resurrection power that raised you from the dead, as we are told in Romans, lives in all of us. Help it to strengthen all of us. Father, thank you for the gift of being together, the gift of today, and I pray a special blessing on anyone who might be struggling. In Jesus name, amen.

God bless. Thanks for watching.