Doubting GodSample

Getting to the Root

Think back to the renovation project. Along the way, you might discover some places in your kitchen that have rotted because of the leak. To salvage it, you’ll have to get rid of the damaged parts and replace them with new materials.

Similarly, as we renovate our faith, we’ll need to get rid of the beliefs that aren’t founded in truth.

Peter experienced this along with many of Jesus’ early followers. We see one particularly powerful example in Matthew 16. For context, Peter, like many of the Jews of his day, thought the Messiah would come as a conquering king, seizing victory over the Romans.

But Jesus came as a suffering servant, not a conquering king. He defied expectations of what the religious leaders thought He would be like, bringing about an upside-down, Kingdom-centered way of living.

Jesus came to raise the standard of love. He didn’t seize power. He served people. He spent time with people overlooked by others. He dined with sinners. He humbled Himself when He had every right to exalt Himself.

So, back to Matthew 16. Jesus is explaining how He must suffer, die, and be raised from the dead, and Peter doesn’t want to hear it. Jesus rebukes him, insisting that God’s plan is completely different from Peter’s limited assumptions and expectations.

We can fall into this trap, too: Often, it’s our own assumptions that limit possibilities, and the truth is that God is so much bigger and better than we could ever imagine.

Like Peter, we have to discover where our own assumptions have clouded our perception of God’s character or skewed our view of His plan. And in the process, we’ll often discover that our doubts have less to do with who God is and more to do with our faulty understanding of who He is.

Perhaps renovating our faith is about realizing where we’ve projected our own ideals onto God. Maybe it’s an opportunity to honestly evaluate whether we’re becoming more like Jesus or whether we’re creating a god who sounds just like us, thinks just like us, and looks just like us.

And that’s why breaking down our beliefs and expressing our doubts isn’t the opposite of faith. As we learn from Peter, Thomas, and so many others, it’s often a big part of a growing faith.

So as your heart takes on a renovation, don’t burn your faith to the ground. Do the hard, grueling work of evaluating what you believe, why you believe it, and whether those beliefs are something to keep building on or something to replace.

As you do so, remember to consult God and others. Pray for wisdom, asking God to reveal where you need to replace a faulty idea of Him with who He truly is.

Here are some good questions to keep in mind as you evaluate your beliefs:

• Why do I have this belief? Who told me this?
• Is this belief rooted in Scripture?
• Does this belief help me love God and others? Does this belief match Jesus’ life and words?

As you ask yourself these hard questions, remember to bring them to God. Belief is often born out of relationships, and we come to trust God more as we get to know Him better. So as you ask yourself these questions, do it with a heart of wanting to get to know God.

He promises that His followers will know His voice, and He will lead you in the way you should go.

Pray: God, show me any areas where I need to replace a false idea of You with truth about who You truly are. Give me wisdom and guidance as I evaluate my beliefs, and give me discernment as I compare my beliefs with Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.