DEALING WITH DOUBT
Peter Chao
Annie was just a child of 10 years old. Her father was distraught: His child was dying, and he had not been able to work. His research was on hold because he was by her bed day after day, listening to her laboring to breathe.
Charles Darwin said later that it was this difficult, incomprehensible event that pushed him over the edge of grief and away from his faith. It shaped his thoughts and his life more than any other incident.
It was this personal experience that drove him away from God.
It is always personal: A painful experience makes us doubt that God is good or that He even answers our prayers. Our heart wants to believe but our mind questions God.
John 20:24-29 shows us that even among those who were with Jesus, there was a doubter. And it is very comforting that the Bible does not condemn doubt, but shows us that:
Doubt is pervasive.
It is the common response to something good after we have experienced something really bad.
Even in the face of the miraculous, we will still doubt. Thomas had seen Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43). Thereafter, he saw Jesus suffer excruciating pain on the Cross.
When the other disciples told him they had seen Jesus alive after the dreadful crucifixion, he said: “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Jesus then appeared to Thomas and met him precisely where his doubts were: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Jesus did not shame or scold Thomas. He did not condemn him. Instead, He imparted a blessing: “Peace be with you!”
Many of us in the church would respond to doubt with arguments. We may seek to intimidate or to dismiss the doubter.
Not so with Jesus. He meets our doubts with His peace.
Doubt is perceptive.
Doubt is the mind trying to sort out what is happening in the heart. It is trying to make sense of the bad experiences that we go through in life.
Thomas was a conflicted person. His mind could not make sense of the crucifixion. The disappointments in his heart raised doubts about Jesus in his mind: How could something so promising crash into something so disappointing?
But Thomas did not let his doubts fester in his heart alone. Instead, He raised them with the other disciples.
Doubt is best addressed by a nurturing people. Many of us hide our doubts, and maybe this is because the church does not treat doubt or doubters kindly.
But when the mind is in collision with the heart, doubts come. We are actually crying out: “I want to believe. Oh, help my unbelief.”
We need God’s peace when we doubt – not heated arguments, not derision. God knows our doubts. He longs to meet us with His presence and His peace.
Doubt is personal.
Doubt is never exclusively intellectual. It is always personal.
Even for Darwin, it was not his scientific research that undermined his faith but it was something personal – the death of his daughter.
When we doubt, it is never only about ideas or thoughts. It is always a life-changing experience we undergo that raises questions about the way we think about God.
And so, Jesus did not challenge Thomas but met him in person with an invitation to touch His wounds.
Faith follows touch. Thomas cried out: “My Lord and my God!”
His response was equally personal. It was not, ‘I believe in a statement of faith.’ He acknowledged Jesus as his Lord and God, the way the Jews addressed Yahweh in the Old Testament – extolling His attributes as the one and only God.
Once a sceptic, Thomas became a most celebrated missionary. After leaving Palestine, he first preached the Gospel in Syria, then in modern-day Iran and Iraq.
Thereafter, he sailed to the Malabar coast of south-west India, planting churches that remain to this day. He continued preaching the Gospel all along India’s east coast until he was stoned to death near the city of Chennai.
A monument remains on a hill there to mark the site of his martyrdom.
The risen Lord can transform an honest doubter into an adventurous missionary for the Kingdom.
Doubt is everywhere around us and in our hearts. Do not be afraid of doubt, especially when it is an expression of our honesty. May Jesus meet us in His Word.
This article is excerpted from a sermon Peter Chao preached at Newton Life Church in May 2019.
MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS
I love to tell the story
’Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love
I Love to Tell The Story
Hymns of old were revisited at the Celebration of Hymns on May 24, with The Crosswinds putting their voices together for old-time favourites like What A Friend We Have In Jesus and Amazing Grace. Treated to the stories of faith behind these compositions, the audience of 900 gathered in Bethel Hall in Grace Assembly of God found their spirits refreshed and renewed. Proceeds from the event are being channeled towards scholarships for selected ELC 2019 participants.
The Emo Leader
Healthy leadership starts with emotionally healthy leaders: This was the topic of discussion at the second YLDP retreat held May 17 to 19 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
“God created emotions and God also has emotion, so I don’t need to feel wrong when I am sad or angry, I only need to express it in the right way.”
– Dony Dermawan
“Christian spirituality, without integration of emotional health, can be deadly.”
– Ni Chen Chuen
“Our emotions help us learn more about ourselves, and ultimately more about God.”
– Amos Chung Rong Xian
“Self-care is not a selfish act.”
– Janice Ong
“Sabbath is important to ensure that my role as a leader is at its most effective.”
– Ernest Oh
UP NEXT
Eagles Rendezvous
The Wisdom writer laments that life is but the merest of breaths, a whisper spoken in the wind: here now, but gone forever in the next moment.
Yet, in our brief life we strive to interrupt an unendingly repetitious existence, long for permanence in an inescapably transient reality, and search for meaning in an empty world.
Death is the Great Disrupter.
It mocks our achievements, taunts our morals, and upsets our plans.
Pascal points out that since we “have not been able to cure death, misery, or ignorance, we have taken to not thinking about these things by filling our lives with other things.”
Distractions and diversions console us in the face of our fears and eventuality.
Far from despair, Ecclesiastes points out that “anyone who is among the living has hope” (9:4).
Death can teach us how to live!
Free admission. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/er.
ELC 2019
Supercharge your growth at ELC 2019 by opting-in for an hour of complimentary One-on-One Coaching when you sign up at elc2019.com. Enjoy Early Bird and Group discounts before June 30, 2019.
Visit elc2019.com/fundings to save up to $880.
The Future of Bible Study
Learn how to maximize the latest Logos Bible Software 8.0 to enhance your personal and group Bible study.
Free Admission. Sign up at www.eagles.org.sg/logos.
DEALING WITH DOUBT
Peter Chao
Annie was just a child of 10 years old. Her father was distraught: His child was dying, and he had not been able to work. His research was on hold because he was by her bed day after day, listening to her laboring to breathe.
Charles Darwin said later that it was this difficult, incomprehensible event that pushed him over the edge of grief and away from his faith. It shaped his thoughts and his life more than any other incident.
It was this personal experience that drove him away from God.
It is always personal: A painful experience makes us doubt that God is good or that He even answers our prayers. Our heart wants to believe but our mind questions God.
John 20:24-29 shows us that even among those who were with Jesus, there was a doubter. And it is very comforting that the Bible does not condemn doubt, but shows us that:
Doubt is pervasive.
It is the common response to something good after we have experienced something really bad.
Even in the face of the miraculous, we will still doubt. Thomas had seen Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43). Thereafter, he saw Jesus suffer excruciating pain on the Cross.
When the other disciples told him they had seen Jesus alive after the dreadful crucifixion, he said: “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Jesus then appeared to Thomas and met him precisely where his doubts were: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Jesus did not shame or scold Thomas. He did not condemn him. Instead, He imparted a blessing: “Peace be with you!”
Many of us in the church would respond to doubt with arguments. We may seek to intimidate or to dismiss the doubter.
Not so with Jesus. He meets our doubts with His peace.
Doubt is perceptive.
Doubt is the mind trying to sort out what is happening in the heart. It is trying to make sense of the bad experiences that we go through in life.
Thomas was a conflicted person. His mind could not make sense of the crucifixion. The disappointments in his heart raised doubts about Jesus in his mind: How could something so promising crash into something so disappointing?
But Thomas did not let his doubts fester in his heart alone. Instead, He raised them with the other disciples.
Doubt is best addressed by a nurturing people. Many of us hide our doubts, and maybe this is because the church does not treat doubt or doubters kindly.
But when the mind is in collision with the heart, doubts come. We are actually crying out: “I want to believe. Oh, help my unbelief.”
We need God’s peace when we doubt – not heated arguments, not derision. God knows our doubts. He longs to meet us with His presence and His peace.
Doubt is personal.
Doubt is never exclusively intellectual. It is always personal.
Even for Darwin, it was not his scientific research that undermined his faith but it was something personal – the death of his daughter.
When we doubt, it is never only about ideas or thoughts. It is always a life-changing experience we undergo that raises questions about the way we think about God.
And so, Jesus did not challenge Thomas but met him in person with an invitation to touch His wounds.
Faith follows touch. Thomas cried out: “My Lord and my God!”
His response was equally personal. It was not, ‘I believe in a statement of faith.’ He acknowledged Jesus as his Lord and God, the way the Jews addressed Yahweh in the Old Testament – extolling His attributes as the one and only God.
Once a sceptic, Thomas became a most celebrated missionary. After leaving Palestine, he first preached the Gospel in Syria, then in modern-day Iran and Iraq.
Thereafter, he sailed to the Malabar coast of south-west India, planting churches that remain to this day. He continued preaching the Gospel all along India’s east coast until he was stoned to death near the city of Chennai.
A monument remains on a hill there to mark the site of his martyrdom.
The risen Lord can transform an honest doubter into an adventurous missionary for the Kingdom.
Doubt is everywhere around us and in our hearts. Do not be afraid of doubt, especially when it is an expression of our honesty. May Jesus meet us in His Word.
This article is excerpted from a sermon Peter Chao preached at Newton Life Church in May 2019.
MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS
I love to tell the story
’Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love
I Love to Tell The Story
Hymns of old were revisited at the Celebration of Hymns on May 24, with The Crosswinds putting their voices together for old-time favourites like What A Friend We Have In Jesus and Amazing Grace. Treated to the stories of faith behind these compositions, the audience of 900 gathered in Bethel Hall in Grace Assembly of God found their spirits refreshed and renewed. Proceeds from the event are being channeled towards scholarships for selected ELC 2019 participants.
The Emo Leader
Healthy leadership starts with emotionally healthy leaders: This was the topic of discussion at the second YLDP retreat held May 17 to 19 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
“God created emotions and God also has emotion, so I don’t need to feel wrong when I am sad or angry, I only need to express it in the right way.”
– Dony Dermawan
“Christian spirituality, without integration of emotional health, can be deadly.”
– Ni Chen Chuen
“Our emotions help us learn more about ourselves, and ultimately more about God.”
– Amos Chung Rong Xian
“Self-care is not a selfish act.”
– Janice Ong
“Sabbath is important to ensure that my role as a leader is at its most effective.”
– Ernest Oh
NEXT UP
Eagles Rendezvous
The Wisdom writer laments that life is but the merest of breaths, a whisper spoken in the wind: here now, but gone forever in the next moment.
Yet, in our brief life we strive to interrupt an unendingly repetitious existence, long for permanence in an inescapably transient reality, and search for meaning in an empty world.
Death is the Great Disrupter.
It mocks our achievements, taunts our morals, and upsets our plans.
Pascal points out that since we “have not been able to cure death, misery, or ignorance, we have taken to not thinking about these things by filling our lives with other things.”
Distractions and diversions console us in the face of our fears and eventuality.
Far from despair, Ecclesiastes points out that “anyone who is among the living has hope” (9:4).
Death can teach us how to live!
Free admission. Register at www.eagles.org.sg/er.
ELC 2019
Supercharge your growth at ELC 2019 by opting-in for an hour of complimentary One-on-One Coaching when you sign up at elc2019.com. Enjoy Early Bird and Group discounts before June 30, 2019.
Visit elc2019.com/fundings to save up to $880.
The Future of Bible Study
Learn how to maximize the latest Logos Bible Software 8.0 to enhance your personal and group Bible study.
Free Admission. Sign up at www.eagles.org.sg/logos.