Devotion - Tuesday, March 1

Our presentation last night was not very well attended, but the dozen or so who did make it seemed to benefit from the conversation. The intent was to allow folks the opportunity to talk about the thing which is sometimes most difficult to acknowledge; to make it clear that there is no reason to avoid speaking of these things.

It may have been the weather - it was a terrible evening. It may have been the timing - we are getting to those weeks where there are many exams. Or perhaps it was the title - one student asked me to explain it. The topic was "doubt." The title was "Doubt is not a four letter word."

Four letter words are those words which some believe should never make it to our lips. I play racquetball with an unlikely assortment of individuals. Some are heavily involved in their churches, others are not. When a shot goes wrong, the latter are inclined to utter a four letter word. The previous (all of whom know I am a pastor) look to me as if to say, "Aren't you going to tell them how wrong that is?" In much the same way, an expression of doubt is looked down upon by some - perhaps by too many.

The problem is that we have made doubt the opposite of faithful. In reality, the opposite of faithful is fearful. We are no lacking in faith when we doubt; faith has begun to elude us when act out of fear.

To doubt is to wonder; to doubt is to question; to doubt is to probe the edges and discover anew the God that awaits us there. One of the students in my small group said that doubt was always a part of the lives of those who are not God; that only God knows all things.

Far from encouraging folks to forsake their confidence in God, last night's offering was an attempt to assure folks that even when questions arise (in their heads, in their hearts, or on their lips) this is not to mean that they should stay away from God's house and God's people. Doubt is not the flu - we do not pass it from one person to another. In giving voice to our doubt we explore the intricate details of a life lived in search of the One who is all knowing. Until we are fully united with Him, we will forever wander.