044 Faith and Doubt: The Valley of Doubt

The Bible contains dramatic stories of times God would show up and reveal His glory to people. Often these events took place on mountaintops.  They were unforgettable moments! 

But here’s the thing: God never lets them stay there.  He always asks them to leave the mountaintop – to leave that special moment and go down off the mountain – usually to do some difficult thing in the valley below.

It’s no different for us. The walk of faith requires leaving the mountaintop of certainty and going into the valley of ambiguity.

Maybe God knows us better than we know ourselves.  Maybe we’ll only become the sort of believers we’ve always wanted to be when we are forced to walk through and even linger in the valley of doubt.

The Bible is filled with men and women who experienced the valley of doubt, and yet God doesn’t give up on any of them. 

One classic example is John the Baptist. He experiences the mountaintop of baptizing Jesus; of seeing the heavens open and the Spirit descending like a dove; of hearing the voice of God proclaim His love for His Son. Amazing!  

But a few short years later, John finds himself in prison. If there ever was someone who “deserved” to have Jesus come through for him, it would be John! 

But Jesus didn’t rescue him.  He left John in prison.  He left him to die.  And thus John, even with all that he’d seen, struggled with doubt.  

That’s why he sends some of his followers to the Lord, asking Jesus, “Are you the one who was to come or should we look for another?”  That is, “Was I right to trust in you?”

How did Jesus respond? He didn’t get angry. Nor did He placate him. He just gently tells John to reflect on all that he had seen and heard. Then He says: “Blessed is the one who does not stumble because of me.” Or as another paraphrase puts it: “Blessed is the person who does not get upset with the way I run my business.”

Friends, for all we can know about the ways of God, there is so much we don’t know about the will of God.  When He comes through as we wish, our faith soars, doesn’t it?  And when He doesn’t, that’s when doubt creeps in. 

I hope you have many mountaintop experiences.  As you do, remember them well.  But when the valley times come and when the doubts arise...remember: 

Never doubt in the dark what you learned in the light.

Text: Mark 9:2-6, 20-24; Matthew 3:1-16; 11:1-3; 14:1-2, 6-12

Originally recorded August 22, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.