Doubt in Personal Crisis

Source: Matthew 11:1-19

Have you ever doubted God’s existence or His ability to keep His promises?

Think about the times you have doubted most and ask yourself what was going in your life?

Most often doubt comes to us in moments of personal crisis, when life circumstances do not turn out the way we anticipated.

A bad grade after studying for days, a car accident that totaled your car, a friend committed suicide, your parents got divorced, your best friend came out, your relative passed away, you were bullied on Instagram, your boyfriend posted that photo online, you got cut from the team, and so many other disappointments happen in life.

“That’s not fair!” we shout. I know, I’ve been there too. We all go through tough times in life, some harder than other, but all of them very real. It is traumatic and creates fear, anxiety and insecurity in the areas that used to bring you hope and comfort. “Is this stuff really true?”

Doubt doesn’t discriminate. It creeps up on you and then, BAM, you are confronted with worries, thoughts and questions you never anticipated before. Maybe you even know the answers, but for some reason they are no longer making sense.

I may not know your personal story, but I know one thing, if you haven’t already had battles with doubt, you will. Knowing that doubt is a part of life, it’s a part of our faith journey, can help you battle it when the time comes. It is also something you need to talk about:

“Doubt is toxic when it’s not expressed in a caring environment.” Kara Powell

As you face doubts, it is important to remember that God has mercy, and commands that we have mercy on those who doubt (Jude 22). That doubt is not the same as unbelief. We should doubt our doubts. And handling doubt properly will strength your belief in God. We need others to open up to and share with to help us through it.

In matters of doubt, the Bible is not silent. We have already looked at “Doubting” Thomas and the doubts of the Israelites in the wilderness. Tonight we are going to look at the doubts of someone we wouldn’t have expected to doubt: John the Baptist.

A Voice in the Wilderness

John the Baptist is a unique character in the Bible. He is the cousin of Jesus, born 6 months before Jesus. He was a miracle baby, and called from the womb to be the forerunner for Jesus’ messianic ministry. He preached in the wilderness a sermon of repentance, and baptized those who did.

When John first saw Jesus, he said, “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” John was the one who baptized Jesus and was present for God calling out, “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!” John sent his own disciples off to follow Jesus.

Not Just a Prophet

Jesus had high praise for John. He said that John the Baptist was more than a prophet and that there has not been anyone greater that was born of a woman than John. Jesus recognized that John was the fulfillment of the prophesy of the one who would come to prepare the way for the Messiah.

Doubt is no Respecter of Persons

A miracle child, born as fulfillment to prophecy, a wilderness prophet and preacher and the one who baptized Jesus. This guy surely is protected against doubt.

BUT…

Life didn’t turn out the way John planned. The Israelites and prophets of old had something in common with John, even Jesus’ disciples did too. They all thought that the Messiah was going to come and defeat Rome, establish his kingdom and lead Israel into a Golden Age.

And who could fault them for that assumption? They didn’t know what we know today. They didn’t understand the “near” and “far” implications of the prophecies. It is common to focus on the parts of Scripture that we like, but overlook the parts we don’t, or don’t understand. So of course, they would focus on the Messiah coming to reign passages, but not on the Messiah as the “suffering servant” passages.

But not only was Jesus’ purpose for coming the first time different then John expected, he was arrested and thrown in prison for boldly calling out the king’s sin.

John, who boldly called all to repent and be ready for the Lord, was now in a dank prison cell facing execution. He sends a messenger to Jesus with one question:

“Are you the Messiah or should we look for another?”

There it is. He gives voice to his doubt. Is Jesus really who He claimed to be?

The once bold prophet, who proclaimed that Jesus was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” who baptized Jesus and sent disciples to follow Him, is now faced with a personal crisis. “Is this stuff really true?”

Jesus Responds with the Gospel

Notice that Jesus isn’t frustrated with John. He’s not impatient with him, and is not offended by the question. Instead, he sends the messenger back to him with a message.

“Messenger, what do you see? What do you hear? That is what I want you to go tell John.”

The messenger saw that the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers were cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the poor have good news preached to them. All these things that Jesus recounted for the messenger were direct fulfillment of the prophecies that John the Baptist was familiar with.

This response was more than a list, it was a proclamation of the Gospel. It is as if Jesus said, “I AM the Messiah, and I have power over sickness, disease, death and sin! Don’t forsake the faith now, John, hold on until the end. There is more to come!”

Jesus Responds with a Mild Rebuke

“Blessed are is the one who is not offended by me.”

It’s as if Jesus was saying, “John, I know this plan isn’t turning out the way you thought it was going to. You placed your own expectations on me that I didn’t tell you to. But it’s ok. I know what I am doing. Trust me. Hold fast to your faith. You will see that I will keep my word.”

After Jesus sends the messenger on his way, He then talks to the crowd about John. He doesn’t criticize him, slander him, or demean him in anyway. He speaks highly of him and even boasts about him. But he also shows how important the kingdom of God is that John was preparing the way for.

What You Need To Know In Your Personal Crisis

Life may not be shaping up the way you planned it to. Believe me, I understand that. I understand what it means to be broken, to feel lost, overwhelmed and utterly alone. I can only imagine how John the Baptist may have felt, or how you feel in your trial. The story of John the Baptist’s doubt teaches us important truths for our own doubt.

1.     God is not frustrated, upset or angry at you for doubting. He loves you and is patiently waiting for you to look to Him. He is gentle and will not force His will on you.

2.     God wants you to know the Gospel: the Good News. He is for you! He demonstrated His love for you, that even while you were sinning, doubting or not believing, He died for you.

3.     His ways are bigger than your ways. He is an infinite God who knows the beginning and the end. You are a finite human and can only know a fraction of what God knows. Yet He wants you to trust Him and His ways.

4.     Be careful of what expectations you place on God, or “agreements” you make with God. Don’t put words into God’s mouth. Trust Him. Look to what He has done, and know that He will fulfill all His promises when we understand them properly.

5.     If you are a follower of Christ, even in your doubt, God is boasting about you as His child (John 1:12).

There is so much more that could be said. I could tell you of my failures and success in doubts. Times where I felt sucker punched by God because “He didn’t keep His end of the bargain!” But the reality was, I had my own view of “messianic expectations.”

Yet, God was so patient with me. He compassionately and mercifully demonstrated His faithfulness through my own struggles with doubt. And you know what? I am better off for it. I now see His gentle loving embrace as my comfort. I trust His plan, knowing His is so much better than mine.