No Doubt

Is a crisis of faith good or bad?

Some time ago it was big news that Mother Teresa revealed she had a crisis of faith. Critics said, “See? How can God be real if someone like her doubts her faith?” But others nodded and thought, “She was a real person, just like me.”

The Fox News Channel recently showed the program “Escape from Hamas.” It chronicled the life of Yousef, a Muslim from Gaza.

Yousef’s father was one of the founders of Hamas, an anti-Israel terrorist group. After seeing the fear, hatred and torture of Muslims by other Muslims, Yousef had a crisis of faith.

When he compared the Bible with the Qur’an, Yousef was struck by Jesus’ command to “Love your enemies.” He said he knew then that Jesus was from God.

Yousef now lives in America. He has found peace with God and with his former enemies. And he is sure he has found the truth.

Now hold on just a minute. How can anyone know for sure they have the truth?

Unfortunately some people view certainty with suspicion. Since they have doubts about God, religion and faith, they think no one else can be sure of the truth. How sad.

What they fail to realize is that some people may have already gone through a crisis of faith. In many cases a crisis of faith leads to the truth. It did for me.

When I was a child, I lived by my parent’s faith. I knew God was real because I saw how he answered my parent’s prayers. But my faith was a second-hand faith.

As a high school student I began to explore my beliefs. In the Bible I found the answers to my questions. I learned God was faithful, not only to my parents, but to me, as well.

When it came time to choose a college, I prayed for guidance. And God answered my prayers in such a specific way that I had no doubt it was God!

After I got married, I can still remember my father’s advice to me as a new husband. He said, “It’s time you lost your parent’s faith and got your own.” And I knew exactly what he meant.

Until then I had taken excursions into faith, exploring it. But it was time for me to live it.

I learned that doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive. Convictions and strong beliefs arise through our doubts, not in spite of them. When doubts drive us to search for answers there is nothing quite so exhilarating as discovering the truth.

Jesus who said, “I am the truth” also said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” The truth about Jesus sets us free from sin, a guilty conscience and from our doubts.

Someone once said, “Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.” I like that.

Maybe you’re a skeptic. That’s OK. The Bible doesn’t condemn those who doubt.

When Jesus encountered “Doubting Thomas” after his resurrection, he didn’t belittle Thomas. Jesus invited him to come and examine the evidence. To see that it was really Jesus. Alive.

And he invites you to do the same. Listen to Jesus’ invitation to non-believers. Jesus said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

Examine the evidence. Read the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles. Look at the testimony of the eyewitnesses. Ask God to show you the truth and he will.

So is a crisis of faith good or bad? It’s a good thing if it leads you to the truth and to peace.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!