Faith with Doubts
There are two men in the Bible that God brags about and which the Bible records their response to trials.
God’s Praise of a Blameless Man
Can you imagine having the God of the universe, who spoke the universe into existence in six days by the words of His mouth saying these words about you?
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. … The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:6,8) {emphasis mine}
A holy God bragged to evil Satan about Job’s faithfulness, but the accuser, Satan, did what the accuser does, he accused Job of not being faithful but acting in selfishness. God knew Job’s heart, so He allowed Satan to act against him.
Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. (Job 1:9-12)
Notice Satan can’t do anything against Job without God’s permission. Because God wants to show Satan, Job, and us what true faithfulness looks like, God allows Satan to torment Job, but with limits.
After losing all his worldly possessions and his children, what does Job do?
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (Job 1:20-22) {emphasis mine}
Wow! Not only did Job not blame God, but he also worshipped and blessed the Lord. It takes a truly God-centered heart to respond to this kind of loss with blessings and worship. What an example for us to follow!
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.” (Job 2:3-6) {emphasis mine}
The accuser comes again and accuses faithful Job with doing good just to preserve his life. God again decides to allow torment in order to show Satan, Job, and us what a faithful servant looks like. Once again though, God limits what Satan can do to Job.
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10) {emphasis mine}
After losing his health, Job is still faithful to God, but then his “friends” show up. After a week of sitting together in silence, Job had a moment of weakness.
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. (Job 3:1)
Job doesn’t curse God, but he does curse the day he was born. He is suffering so much that he wishes he had never been born. He is hurting so much and can’t see an end to the pain, so he just wants it to end. Feeling this way is understandable, but not ideal. Unfortunately, his friends do not continue their silence. At first Job stays faithful despite unfair and untrue accusations.
Would that God were willing to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. (Job 6:9-10) {emphasis mine}
He seeks God’s guidance.
Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?
“Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred. (Job 6:23-24)
As their accusation get more and more divorced from truth, he defends himself more and more until he is almost accusing God of injustice.
For though I were right, I could not answer;
I would have to implore the mercy of my judge.
If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
For He bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
He will not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with bitterness.
If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?
Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty. (Job 9:15-20) {emphasis mine}
Was Job wrong to accuse God? Yes and No. God is never unjust even if it seems so. If we are frustrated, confused, and hurt, God does want us to be honest. A moment of weakness and honestly sharing our thoughts and feelings is better than pretending to be faithful, but having resentment in our hearts. What matters most is that we return to faith as Job did.
Even in his great doubt and frustration, Job always turned back to God.
Then Job replied,
“Even today my complaint is rebellion;
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
I would present my case before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn the words which He would answer,
And perceive what He would say to me. (Job 23:1-5) {emphasis mine}
Before God even spoke to him, Job admitted that his complaints were rebellion and sought God so he could “learn the words which He would answer.” He shared complaints, but then repented and sought God’s direction and answers.
God corrects Job’s doubts, but is merciful and encouraging to Job. Job’s response to correction is total submission.
Then Job answered the Lord and said,
“Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” (Job 40 3-5)
God shows Job His greatness through His creation and how does Job respond?
Then Job answered the Lord and said,
“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6) {emphasis mine}
Job repents of his distrust. He seeks God’s instruction and submits fully and completely to God.
How does God respond?
It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has.” (Job 42:7) {emphasis mine}
Even though Job briefly questioned God, he is praised as God’s servant who has spoken of God rightly.
Even when we are hurting, we should worship God. Even when we feel treated unjustly, we should trust God. Even when we don’t understand what God is doing, we need to seek His guidance and instruction. God is faithful all of the time. He is working through the good and the bad times. We just need to be honest with God, trust His goodness & power, and worship Him for who He is.
A Man After God’s Heart
After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ (Acts 13:22) {emphasis mine}
God speaks of David as “a man after My heart, who will do all My will.” To my human mind, this seems wrong. David committed adultery with one of His top officers wives and then had him killed. He had moments of rage. Based on the actions of his sons, he probably wasn’t a great father (probably because he took too many wives instead of following God’s pattern of one man and one woman in marriage). He had anger issues. Still God calls David “a man after My heart.”
What was it about David that made God speak so highly of him?
Let’s start with David’s reaction to Goliath’s taunts. Every man in Israel was afraid of this battle-hardened giant. They all knew they did not personally have the strength or skill to beat him, but what about David?
Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26) {emphasis mine}
David didn’t look at the situation through human eyes. He saw an uncircumcised (not protected by God) man taunting the living God and knew God’s promises to Israel. He knew God was more powerful than Goliath and that God could enable the smallest child to take out this man who taunted God. Despite being young and inexperienced, David volunteered to fight the giant that every soldier in Israel was afraid to fight.
And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.” (1 Samuel 17:37) {emphasis mine}
Was David just a foolish, brazen, young child that didn’t know what he was getting himself into? No. He knew God’s past faithfulness and trusted His future faithfulness.
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”
Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:37) {emphasis mine}
David was taunted for being a youth, for not having real weapons, and for carrying just a sling and a couple of rocks. Goliath’s pride did not allow him to understand how God can use the smallest things to take down the strongest. David didn’t approach Goliath with personal bravado. He trusted in God’s ability to win every battle. He was overcome with a desire to show the world what God could do. He wasn’t hesitant, but “ran quickly toward the battle line.” He knew with every inch of his being that God was all he needed for victory. That is faith! Faithful God defended David and His chosen people from the giant that nobody else thought could be defeated.
How often do we hide from much lesser enemies instead of trusting in God’s strength and faithfulness?
After David had been anointed King, but before being crowned, Saul chased him continually trying to kill him. Did David fight Saul like he had fought Goliath? Goliath was an uncircumcised gentile who taunted God. Saul was God’s anointed, so David did not attack or even fight back against Saul. He trusted that God would crown Him when it was His will to do so.
He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” (1 Samuel 24:3-6) {emphasis mine}
David had the opportunity to slay Saul. He was encouraged to slay Saul and take the God-promised crown himself. He did not. He waited on the Lord. He even felt guilt for cutting off the edge of Saul’s robe. A similar situation happened again, but David refused to seize the throne for himself.
We see in the Psalms David’s faith, doubts, cries, and praise. David was honest with God. He shared his fears, doubts, and frustrations, but he always returns to seeking God and praising Him.
Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes. (Psalm 27:9-11)
When David disobeyed God and did a census, he was given a choice.
So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” (2 Samuel 24:13-14) {emphasis mine}
He was given a choice of famine, fleeing, or pestilence. He didn’t make excuses. He accepted his guilt and that he deserved punishment. What was His response? “Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great.” He trusted God’s judgment and choice and threw himself on God’s mercy.
God sent pestilence on the land, but David called out in repentance. He didn’t call out on behalf of himself, but on behalf of his citizens:
Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.” (2 Samuel 24:17) {emphasis mine}
He asked for all punishment to be on himself and his family and not on the innocent people of Israel. He called for his punishment and defended those under his care as King. Yes, he disobeyed, but he took ownership of his error and did not try to avoid God’s judgment. This is what a man after God’s own heart looks like. In life we will choose wrong instead of right on occasion, but a faithful believer will repent of their sin and not avoid the discipline of the Lord. They definitely also will do all that is in their power to prevent the consequences from harming others.
When we sin, do we immediately repent? Do we ask for God’s judgment on us? Do we seek to make sure that the consequences of our sin does not adversely affect those around us?
The Perfect Man
Nobody likes suffering, especially undeserved suffering. We all want out of our trials even if we can see some good coming from it. Even Jesus wanted out. He knew why He had to suffer. He wanted to bring us into a right relationship with Him. He wanted to help us, but He did not want to bear the sin of the world. He didn’t want to be beaten. He didn’t want to hang naked and in agony on a cross. Still He, who could have avoided this agony, chose to accept it because it was the only way for us to be reconciled with God. What was His response to agony and seeing more to come? He prayed. He also asked a couple of His disciples to pray for Him.
And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. (Luke 22:39-44) {emphasis mine}
He prayed for deliverance, but He submitted to the Father’s will. He was the perfect example of a man in agony. He knew what was coming. He would feel the weight and guilt of the sin of the world; He would be separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit when they had always been one in every way; He would be shamed and in physical agony; but still He submitted to God’s will knowing the good that would come from it.
When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. (Luke 23:33-34) {emphasis mine}
While being wrongly accused, wrongly punished, taunted, and abused, Jesus took time to pray for those who were doing Him wrong. Instead of focusing on His pain, He prayed for the pain that would be coming to those who were causing His pain.
When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:33-34) {emphasis mine}
We think of Jesus’s suffering as coming primarily from His physical suffering, but Jesus’s greatest pain did not come from the physical things done to Him. His greatest pain was bearing the guilt of the sin of the whole world when He had always been perfect and without sin. His greatest pain was being separated from the rest of the trinity. Although He intellectually knew why He was separated from God and knew He had chosen this for our good, His soul cried out in agony and honesty, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
When we are in agony, God understands when we cry out with honesty, from our hearts, but we always have to return to faith and submission.
Jesus ended His suffering with a cry.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. (Mark 15:37)
Only Luke describes what He cried. After calling out what sounded like an accusation, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”, He ended with words of perfect faith and commitment.
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46) {emphasis mine}
When you are suffering in agony of body, mind, and spirit, can you have the faith to put your life in God’s hand and say, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit?”
It is OK to have moments of doubt. It is OK to not understand and cry out, “why?” It is OK to share your heart and say, “this doesn’t seem fair.” What is important is that we then fall on our face and worship God like Job, stand firm in God’s protection/power/promises like David, and respond like Jesus with “yet not My will, but Yours be done” or “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit?” God wants us to share our doubts with Him, but He also wants us to always return to faith in and worship of Him.
May the God of heaven change our hearts and minds and turn them to perfect submission to Him. May He help us to trust Him, submit to His will, and praise His name even when we are in the worst circumstances and don’t understand why. May He mold us into the image of the perfect man, Jesus.
Trust Jesus
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