Some Questions Doubt Asks

Doubt is common.  It always has been common.  Too common.  

As far back as Genesis 3 and the rebellious sin of Adam to eat fruit forbidden by God, mankind has doubted God.  

Not every doubt is the same, but there are some common objections and complaints against God in our questions and doubts of Him.  If When you doubt, it is good to ask which of these is tainting your perspective of and trust in God.

Is God’s plan wise and good for me?  Does God really know what is best?  This attack against the omniscience and wisdom of God was the question behind the rebellion of Israel against God when they asked for a king “to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5-6).  They didn’t want God as their King, believing that the kings of the nations were better (more gracious? more wise? more tolerant?) than God in Heaven.  They were warned it would not go well in multiple ways, with this summarizing warning:  “you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day” (1 Sam. 8:18).  Yet they persisted in their request and refused to listen (v. 19).  

Just as Israel doubted the wisdom of God to lead them, supposing that there was someone who was wiser and would care more graciously for them, so our doubts and questions of God sometimes come from the same source.  So we want something other than what the Lord has given us.  Or we want what He has promised, now — because we are certain that our understanding of the situation is wiser than God’s comprehension. 

Is God able?  This is a question against God’s power and omniscience.  Do things happen randomly apart from His sovereign control?  Are there situations that are happenstance that are beyond His ability to act?  Is my sin so great that it is beyond His willingness or ability to forgive and redeem?  

The story is told of Katie Luther coming out of her bedroom one morning in black funeral attire.  When Luther asked her who died, she responded something like, “I assume God did, because of the way you have been acting.”  She was pointing out that her husband’s melancholy attitude was actually an expression of doubt in God’s ability and sovereignty.

When God acts differently than we expect (or desire), that doesn’t mean He’s not able.  It means He has a different plan.  Everything comes through His able hand:  “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That both good and ill go forth?” (Lam. 3:38).  Yes it is.  He powerfully decrees it all.  Even what we deem to be bad and evil, He is sovereignly purposing for good (Gen. 50:20).  The evil is not circumventing His plan and doing something beyond Him.  He is doing something that is beyond our comprehension and understanding and also fully within His will and skill. 

Does God really care if I don’t follow Him this time?  This is a question that doubts God’s perseverance in carrying out His judgment against sin.  We observe that He does not generally judge sin and disobedience immediately, so we assume that He is either willing to overlook our sin, or that His proscriptions are not firm — “He is willing to grade on a sliding scale,” we wrongly assume. 

It is true that God is patient and endures much sin by us against Him, but His tolerance of our sin is because He is waiting for us to repent, not because He doesn’t care (Rom. 2:4).  He is righteous in His retribution against sin.  Sin will be disciplined and punished.  He will not overlook or forget about a single sin.  That truth is a warning for me to not be lackadaisical about my sin as if God doesn’t care about it.  And it is also a comfort to me that when I experience sin against me or see sin in the world around me that He will make all things right (Rom. 3:5-6; 12:19). 

In summation, doubt says, “I am not confident in God’s nature (goodness) or ability (strength) or love — so I will pursue another way of living life (apart from God’s way), and God won’t discipline or punish me for my rebellion.”

In contrast, trust says, “God in His love always wills what is best for me.  In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about.” [Jerry Bridges, Trusting God; the first person pronouns were made singular instead of plural.]

Let us fight against doubt by recognizing the questions we are asking and the judgments we are making about God.  And let us learn to meditate on the true realities of God and cultivate a deepening trust of Him.