Part 3

Hello ,

There is a moment after loss when questions start rising.

• Why did this happen?
   
• Why didn’t God stop it?
   
• Why did the marriage fail?
   
• Why did the cancer return?
   
• Why did betrayal win?
   
• Why didn’t the prayer change anything?

And almost immediately, another fear follows:
Am I losing my faith because I’m asking these questions?

Here is something vital to understand:

Doubt is not the same as unbelief.

Doubt wrestles.
Unbelief walks away.

In Mark 9:24, a desperate father cried out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” 

That sentence holds tension. He believed — and yet he struggled. Jesus did not reject him for that. He responded with compassion and power.

Doubt brings its questions to God.
Unbelief decides God is no longer worth trusting.

• After divorce, doubt asks, “Was God ever holding this together?”
   
• After death, doubt whispers, “Does He really see my pain?”
   
• After betrayal, doubt wonders, “Can I trust anyone — even God?”
   
• After illness, doubt asks, “Why won’t He heal?”
   
• After disappointment, doubt questions, “Did I misunderstand His will?”

These questions are not spiritual treason. They are human.

Consider Thomas. After the resurrection, he said he would not believe unless he saw and touched Christ’s wounds. When Jesus appeared, He did not shame Thomas. He invited him closer (John 20:27). The doubter was not cast aside. He was met with evidence and patience.

History gives us another picture.

After the death of his wife, the theologian C.S. Lewis wrote openly about his crisis of faith in A Grief Observed. He described feeling as though heaven’s door had been slammed shut. Yet he did not abandon belief. He continued wrestling, writing, praying. His doubt did not become defiance. It became deeper reflection. And in time, his faith matured through the pain.

The real danger is not asking hard questions.

The danger is deciding that God is guilty without allowing Him to speak.

Faith that never questions is often shallow. Faith that wrestles and stays is refined.

You may feel unsteady.
You may feel uncertain.
You may not feel spiritually confident.

But if you are still bringing your questions to God, you are not in unbelief.

You are in process.

When faith hurts, doubt may visit.

Just don’t let it evict you from the presence of God.

Stay!

Musical Reflection: Be Still My Soul

Have a great day and God bless!

Pastor Mike / The Open Word