On Sunday we got a chance to hear Abby speak about “Increasing Our Doubt.” Abby has always been unconventional when it comes to the status quo, but that’s why she sees what other people don’t and for that reason she brings a completely different perspective to our pastoral team.
In this particular case, Abby talked about increasing our faith through the means of doubt. She shared that it actually takes more faith to believe in God when you have doubts than when you don’t.
It’s easy to trust in God and have faith in Him when everything is going according to plan. But when we are faced with uncertainty and plans shift and change outside of our control, we may run into a “crisis of faith” moment.
One of the gems I caught from Abby was when she said, “When God doesn’t answer a prayer, remind yourself of the times that He did.” This is a tool for life.
Abby just gave us a strategy to fight the enemy when he comes lurking at your door and a way to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
Let me explain, in life we tell stories about ourselves, others and the world around us when we experience things. We often do it unconsciously, but I’d like to bring it to your awareness.
For example, if you were to get into a car accident you may tell yourself three possible stories:
- You are a bad driver – yourself.
- That other driver is a bad driver – others.
- This city is filled with bad drivers – the world around us.
We are constantly evaluating our experiences in relation to ourselves, others and the world around us. We often do the same thing with our faith at times.
Let’s take an unanswered prayer for example. You may find yourself thinking that the results or lack of results from your prayers may be the following:
- It’s me. Maybe I didn’t have enough faith – yourself.
- Maybe we didn’t get enough people to pray and intercede – others.
- Maybe God doesn’t care – Our view of God.
The reality is that an unanswered prayer may not have any bearing on the individual or others but may very well have its reasoning in an understanding that only God is privy to.
The scripture tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV):
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
When bad things happen, and things don’t go according to what we plan or even pray for, we sometimes start to tell ourselves stories about our experiences.
Have you ever had the thought, “Maybe I didn’t have enough faith”, when what you prayed for didn’t come to pass?
Have you ever said to yourself, “If God loves me then why did this happen?”
Although these thoughts may seem natural and innocent, they can easily turn into stories that hinder our faith and keep us from God. That is why we need to be intentional about the stories we tell ourselves; especially about who God is to us.
One of the greatest quotes I’ve ever heard came from Pastor Alvin who was quoting his grandmother. He said his grandmother used to always say, “I had a bad day but I have a great God.”
In her wisdom, she separated what she was experiencing from who God was, whether it was good, bad or neutral. No matter what the day brought, his grandmother seemed to tell herself one thing to be true: “I have a great God.”
Reminding ourselves of who God is and what He has done in our lives is a powerful strategy for increasing our faith. I’d like to belief that it has been used by many heroes of the faith.
My prayer for us is that we would take a page out of Abby’s, the late grandmother Koh’s and many others books, on how to increase our faith. May we continue to remind ourselves of who God is and what He has done in our lives. May the Lord grant us wisdom to discern what we experience and what stories we tell ourselves. Holy Spirit, guide us and lead us into your ways. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen!