June 30, 2009

Had to answer three questions for a youth audience on the subject of doubt Here were my answers:

What is doubt to you?
Doubt is a very powerful force in the life of a Christian. Galileo called doubt the father and pioneer of invention Doubt is not the opposite of faith; the opposite of faith is unbelief. Doubt is at the half way stage between unbelief and faith and has to decide between the two.
The presence of doubt is not the problem the critical issue is what we do with it when it arises The point is that Jesus, he’s not worried about it, in fact he welcomes it .In mark 9 a man comes to Jesus one day and confessed to his struggle with doubt, but Jesus didn’t see his doubt as a sign of unbelief but of faith because of his willingness to bring his doubts to Jesus and lay then at his feet


How do you deal with doubt?
A diver who catches fish for exotic aquariums, mentioned that the most popular fish is the shark, reason being that a shark can adapt its size to its environment its in, put it in a tank and its size can be contained to fit inside ,where as release it into the big wide ocean and they can grow up to 4 m long. What are the environments that contain doubt and release faith?
Praise -praise is the language of victory, praise is the language of faith. God inhabits the praises of his people (It literally decentralises doubt and centralises God)
Prayer- Prayer is the key that unlocks the biggest doors of doubt.
People- Holy spirit, friends, leaders.

All these three environments help me to doubt my doubts, bring perspective and create forward movement in my life.

Can you have doubt and faith at the same?
Absolutely. Where you find one you will find the other. Doubt is a great breeding ground for faith to be born. The key is that when doubt comes don’t let it paralyse u, but use it to propel you forward towards a life of faith and discovery in God People who God used greatly in the bible,Abaham,Moses,Jeremiah,Elijah, Peter, all had doubts but also lived great lives of faith Because they didn’t see them as only a struggle, but a springboard towards greater things.

What ever you are facing, what ever the issues are in your world , the challenges that you are up against I want to encourage you, don’t give up get down , but get up and go for it. God has empowered you and I to doubt our doubts, and live a life of faith and hope. Yes The future is uncertain, but with God on our side we can move toward it with confidence, shape the future and be the difference the world needs to see