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Faith Is Stronger Than Doubt

The loss of a child plunged me into utter darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Even for a person of faith, it’s hard to understand why bad things happen. And some of the most hard-core doubters might agree, no science can explain why nice people so often get malignant cancers while their meth lab neighbors survive multiple head injuries.

Two common responses to life’s troubles are (1) a belief that we’re alone in the cold and random universe and (2) a belief that God is real but either is against us, or doesn’t care.

The problem with the first response is that a person in crisis has no rational basis for hope. The second generates feelings on a spectrum from shame and regret, to anger and hostility. In this paradigm you respond to crisis by blaming yourself or God, withdrawing and becoming an empty person, or lashing out and becoming a grade IV cancer in the world.

But there is a third response: faith. Faith doesn’t magically change our circumstances and make everything happy; it merely bends the light of our current circumstances in such a way that we can see God’s presence in the moment, despite the outcome. Faith allows us to see hope when all seems lost, to survive the furnace of suffering, to grow despite the pain. 

Faith isn’t a belief that God will spare you from problems; it is a belief that he’s still God and will carry you through those problems. I now know you can have faith and it doesn’t always mean everything will be okay.

Doubt isn’t optional if you’re an honest person, because as soon as you think you’ve banished doubt forever, another problem will plunge you right back into it. But take heart: Doubt is not the absence of faith. You can doubt and believe at the same time. I do—every day. I’ve learned over time that faith is stronger than doubt. 

The Bible is full of examples of people doubting, questioning, and being mad at God. See how many you can find in Job, Psalms, Jeremiah, and Lamentations.