So You're Doubting Your Faith? I Got 1 Quote & 3 Points

One Quote

“Always make a practice to stir your own mind thoroughly

to think through what you have easily believed.

Your position is not really yours

until you make it yours

through suffering

and study.”

-Oswald Chambers

Three Points

I've seen faith strengthen people stronger than food can. If strength is key, faith is relevant. I chose three points from the quote above and addressed each in a certain order below to help us when we're doubting. May we begin?

1. Think Through What You Have Easily Believed

Listen closely. Don't deny your doubts. Address them. We need to think through what we've believed, and write down what we doubt.

2. Stir Your Own Mind

How do you stir a pot of sauce? You get help. It's called a spoon. The same is true with stirring your mind. We need help. It's called a human. When I doubt, the last thing I need to do is go at it alone. So I'll talk with people who have a stronger faith than me. Or I'll go to YouTube and get help from my favorite philosophers, Ravi Zacharias and John Lennox. When you're feeling weak in your faith, Nadia Bolz-Weber says, "You can take a break [for now]. Let someone else on the pew be strong for you.”

This is how it looks:

If you're going the face-to-face route:

1. Tell a faithful friend you want to meet

2. Show him your list of doubts

3. Ask him which item he thinks is the easiest to tackle first

4. Tell him to do additional research on that item this week

5. Meet up the next week and try to dismantle your doubt

6. Then move on to the next doubt

7. If he's not passionate or well versed on any other items on your list, ask him to refer you to someone who is

If you're going the YouTube route:

1. Go to Youtube

2. Check out today's most credible thinkers

3. ie. Zacharias and Lennox

4. Hear thoughts on your questions

5. Cross doubts off your list once you feel peace about them

3. Through Suffering and Study

Sometimes it takes 2 minutes to ask a question and 20 years to learn the answer. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Tackle the easiest-to-answer doubts first and continue in your suffering and study. This is where you think, pray, wrestle, journal. Make sure you date your journal. Because later when you re-read it, you may laugh at how stupid your questions were. Maybe not.

Conclusion

No one got anywhere by doing nothing. Passivity blows. Being proactive is where it's at. Address your doubts. If I can help, let me know. If I can't, I'll find someone who can.

Practical Next Steps

1. Make a list of what you're struggling to believe

2. Take your list of doubts and solve them with others

3. Press on to suffer and study because our friends and family have the same questions. One day our kids will too.

#EpicFailFriday