Do you have doubts? Have you thought you knew something to be true but later wonder if it is? Has something happened that caused you to question yourself or someone else you believed in? Are you doubting today? Have you become skeptical? Are you asking questions?
Doubt can creep in on even the staunchest of people. We can believe something for our entire lives and suddenly wonder if we were being fooled into a false belief. We can be shaken by an unexpected event. It can throw our world into a topsy turvy mess of emotions causing us to doubt.
Doubt, skepticism, and worry come to us all. It came to John the Baptist. He proclaimed that Jesus was the One, meaning the Messiah. He proclaimed that Jesus would become greater than him because Jesus was before him and was coming after him. He pointed to the same message John the Apostle points out in the first chapter of his gospel, stating Jesus was there at the beginning of creation.
Why did John the Baptist begin to doubt? He was thrown in prison by Herod Antipas out of fear that John’s disciples would cause an uprising among the Jews. While in prison, John sent a couple of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One. It is likely things were not working out as John thought they would. Maybe he was hoping Jesus would rescue him from prison. We don’t know. However, we know John had a bit of doubt creep in, even though he had proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah.
What are we to do when doubt creeps in? We turn back to Scripture. We read and reread the gospels. We recapture and reaffirm what we know about Jesus. We read His promises again and again. We remember that God has fulfilled his promises in the past and trust he will do so in the future. We turn our doubt into trust.
I pray we all prepare ourselves for doubt to creep in. I pray we continue to read Scripture, especially the gospels. I pray each one of trust in God’s promises, removing our doubts about Jesus. Prepare for doubt. Read Scripture. Trust God’s promises. Remove your doubt.
Matthew 11:2-3 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Marty Pressey 