What are you supposed to do when you have doubts about faith? Are you supposed to talk openly about them or hide them? Some of us have experienced our doubts being shut down when we tried to share them, or were given an answer that only led to more questions. In this video, we talk about why seasons of doubt are not something to be discouraged by and give 3 practical things you can do as you process through your doubts and questions.
“When it comes time to trust it, your actions betray what you believe.”
[Numbers 13:1-3]
The Lord now said to Moses, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.
[Numbers 13:17-20]
Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.”
[Numbers 13:27-31]
This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.” But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!”
[Numbers 13:32-33]
So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”
[Numbers 13:32a, 14:1-2]
So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites…Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.
3 Things To Lean Into When Doubting
1) Clarity
2) Community / Counsel
3) Consistency
“Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.” – Charles Spurgeon
[Luke 6:39]
Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch?
[1 Corinthians 15:33]
Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”
[Romans 12:2]
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
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Application Questions
What are you supposed to do when you have doubts about faith? Are you supposed to talk openly about them or hide them? Some of us have experienced our doubts being shut down when we tried to share them, or were given an answer that only led to more questions. In this video, we talk about why seasons of doubt are not something to be discouraged by and give 3 practical things you can do as you process through your doubts and questions.