When in Doubt: Finding Hope in the Waiting

As a Christian, I frequently go to God in prayer in search of wisdom, provision, and for Him to act on my behalf. While I have seen God respond in miraculous ways throughout my life, there are times I still struggle to trust. I was experiencing such a moment recently. I felt my faith wavering in the face of what my eyes could see, and I had questions for the Creator.

Do you see me? Do you care? Where are you? Sometimes it seems that life would be so much easier if we could meet with Jesus, face to face, and get the inside scoop on what He’s up to. And yet, God tells us His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8-9). But it didn’t stop the questions from coming.

Don’t get me wrong, I know my place. I’ve read God’s response to Job enough to know I have no business grilling my Maker, but I also believe that God already knows my heart, so it does no good to fake it. Also, I was not questioning in a spirit of rebellion, but rather from a place of true desperation. But as one who has been a Christian all my life, I can’t help but think—shouldn’t my faith be stronger than this by now? I wondered if God was disappointed in me for my doubt, so I asked Him, and this was the reply I felt drop into my spirit: John the Baptist.

It was a simple reply and yet it packed a punch. My mind was suddenly flooded with thoughts of who John the Baptist was. He was the one who leapt for joy in the womb when a pregnant Mary merely approached his mother, Elizabeth. This was the man who paved the way for Jesus as Messiah. This was the man who baptized Jesus and was a witness to the beginning of His ministry. He knew Jesus—face to face.

And yet, John the Baptist doubted.

While sitting in prison, waiting to be executed, he sent disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” The kingdom did not look the way he expected it to, and he began to waver. But that didn’t shake Jesus’ opinion of John the Baptist. He simply responded this way: “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

Jesus’ response to John the Baptist’s doubt was to build his faith back up with an encouraging report of what was happening. And a few short verses later in Matthew 11:11 Jesus said this: “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.”

As I was contemplating the weight of all of this, I was greatly reassured of God’s patience in my time of questioning. I found comfort in knowing that if the person Jesus referred to as the greatest man who ever lived could struggle, then I shouldn’t think myself better. I was humbled.

I also realized that Jesus often answers my own moments of doubt with a reminder of His goodness. Not only of things He has done in the past but things He is currently doing. It may not always be pertaining to the exact thing I’m waiting on, but he reveals answers to prayers for other people and circumstances as a reminder that He is working and is not slow in His promises, but that His timing is impeccable. And that builds my faith to wait on Him another day.

So, I share this as an encouragement to those who may be waiting on the promises of God. Perhaps it’s a need to be met or justice to be served. You might be tempted to question God’s goodness and wonder if He hears your cries, but remember, you are in good company. Rather than letting it cause you to turn away from God, bring that doubt to Him and lay it at His feet. Pray for more faith, for more wisdom, for confirmation of His goodness. I think you will find that He will meet you where you’re at and give you what you need to sustain you in the waiting. He did for John the Baptist and He has for me.

“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3)