Doubting Godনমুনা

Renovation Best Practices

Once you’ve cleared out the rotted parts of your kitchen, it’s time to start reconstructing. Similarly, once you’ve reevaluated your beliefs through conversations with God and trusted people, it’s time to start rebuilding your faith.

As you enter the renovation stage of your faith, here are some best practices to remember:

1. Bring your doubts to Jesus. He’s big enough to handle them. In Mark 9, we see a father desperate for healing for his son. He asks whether Jesus can do anything about it, and Jesus responds by challenging him to believe. The man replies:

… “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 NIV

Like the father in the story, we can ask Jesus to help us overcome our doubt and disbelief. He cares, He sees, and He can handle it.

2. Get rid of the junk that distorts your view of God. As we talked about yesterday, sometimes we have beliefs that aren’t true, and we shouldn’t build our faith foundation on them. Jesus started sermons with “You’ve heard it said …” signaling that sometimes we need to challenge our beliefs to experience true growth. When we do this, we always compare our beliefs with Scripture, ensuring that we’re building our faith on a foundation of truth.

3. Invite others to help you process your pain, doubt, and questions. Doubt is a normal, healthy part of faith—unless you try to tackle it on your own. Don’t be afraid to bring your questions to trusted friends, mentors, or even a therapist. While not everyone will receive it perfectly, find the people you can safely process your thoughts and feelings with, and make sure they point you right back to Jesus.

4. Center your discipleship around Jesus. If our faith isn’t built on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we’re not working with a solid foundation. So when we think about our beliefs and behaviors, we have to ask ourselves whether they’re in alignment with the way Jesus taught and modeled. Paul wrote this in 1 Corinthians:

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 NIV

As you continue following Jesus, it’s likely you’ll have many renovations over time, and that’s not an indicator of a weak faith but rather a wise choice. So as you face questions and doubts in your faith, don’t freak out. It doesn’t mean you don’t have faith. It might be the beginning of a stronger faith than ever before.

Pray: God, help me overcome my unbelief. Renovate my heart, revealing any areas where I don’t have the right foundation of who You are. Show me how to live and love more like You, and lead me into more alignment with the way of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.