Faith

I doubt. Often. There, I said it. I mean, really, how can one not doubt? In God, in goodness, that there's more to this life and world.

This morning I read Psalm 89. It begins with a proclamation to the Lord "I will sing of the evidence of your mercy forever" (God's Word Translation) and ends with "Where is the evidence of your mercy?". And that's not the only Psalm where the writer expressed doubt.

I have a friend who lost their 6-month old baby. Another friend is in the midst of treatment for leukemia. Some days it's hard to see past it all.

Thinking along these very lines, I arrived at the office before anyone else so I began to listen to the new album from downhere, "Ending is Beginning". The first track, titled "Bleed for this Love" begins with these lyrics:

Out of solid rock I made a river,

To a desert drought I brought the rain

Did you doubt for a moment that I felt your pain?

It seems that I am not the only one who doubts.

Bill Maher recently released a mockumentary called "Religulous" (It looks funny). Maher says he cannot accept anything that is not reasonable. He says that religious traditions and beliefs make no sense, so they are ridiculous.

But according to Hebrews 11:1, it seems faith is not equal to our own standards of reason. "Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see".

Are doubt and faith inextricably linked? Why do we need to be convinced of something if we didn't doubt it in the first place? If so, this is reassuring to me. I grew up thinking that doubt invalidated my faith. In fact, it seems that doubt strengthens my faith. I wouldn't be able to have faith if I didn't have doubt.

I think the Psalmists knew this. Reassuring indeed.

Dwayne Milley, Central District