When Faith Fails: 10 Days Of Finding God In The Shadow Of DoubtSample

If home is the life of faith, then doubt is the road we must walk to get there. Of course, there are challenges on the path: pitfalls, loneliness, angst, fear, questions. The word question comes from the Latin quaerere, which is where we get the word quest. A quest, like any adventure, is wrought with obstacles. Every calling has a cost. The mountains are excruciating to climb. The valleys agonizing to endure. For most people, that’s what going home looks like. Others I know (and envy) have a much easier time. The journey home is a four-lane highway; hop in the car and you’ve arrived. Some, like myself, are on the scenic route.

But either way, we’re getting there.

And either way, we’re not alone. . . .

We’re confused and lonely, stretching frantically through the rubble in search of purpose. We’re handed two scripts. One says there is no meaning. It’s all an accident. Things happen. And by the way, you’re an accident too.

But Jesus gives us another script. He says that life does have meaning. And everything about who you are, the breath in your lungs, the heart pounding in your chest, your tears, fears, and dreams, matter. He promises that justice will reign, mercy will triumph, what’s ruined will be rebuilt; and he invites us to join him the best we know how.

Some say this is nothing more than a fantasy. And, who knows, maybe they’re right. Maybe we are the crazy, deluded ones. But I would rather live my life in hope, searching for a beautiful God, than in the ache and emptiness of a godless world.

I believe there is more to existence than blind, pitiless indifference.

I believe in a God who created us, loved us, gave himself for us, and is drawing us relentlessly, inexorably, lovingly, to himself.

I believe life has purpose.

I believe death does not have the last word.

I believe in ultimate reality and. . . it is teeming with life, beauty, color, and depth.

I believe doubt is part of being human. It stretches us, wounds us, but then—if we let it—leads us to deeper faith.

I believe even when the sun goes dark, it will return again. The eclipse will pass. The world may look different, but so are we. 

And I believe there is more to us than matter.