Struggling with Doubt

Right at this moment, are you 100% sure about what you believe?

Do you go through dark moments when God seems distant and you wonder if you can hang on to your faith? What do you do in those times? Do you embrace the opportunity to explore your faith and to draw closer to God or do you try to ignore the doubt and press on?

Many people were shocked at recent revelations that Mother Teresa struggled with doubt and emptiness. In this Time Magazine article, David van Biema explores the faith crisis that one of the world’s most well known Christians went through. Even while she was sacrificing her life to serve the poorest of the poor in India in the name of Jesus, she was battling an internal struggle. During that time she wrote a heartfelt note addressed to Jesus.

Lord, my God, who am I that You should forsake me? The Child of your Love — and now become as the most hated one — the one — You have thrown away as unwanted — unloved. I call, I cling, I want — and there is no One to answer — no One on Whom I can cling — no, No One. — Alone … Where is my Faith — even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness — My God — how painful is this unknown pain — I have no Faith — I dare not utter the words & thoughts that crowd in my heart — & make me suffer untold agony.

So many unanswered questions live within me afraid to uncover them — because of the blasphemy — If there be God — please forgive me — When I try to raise my
thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts
return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and
yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?

Heavy stuff.

When we look through the Psalms we find very similar themes when the writers call out to God and ask why he seems so distant. We tend to overlook those parts of the scriptures and yet they are so raw, so real that we are settling for a very shallow faith if we don’t explore such passages and examine our own doubts.

If we say that we serve a big God then isn’t God big enough to handle the big questions?

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we looked at the issue of doubt and of Mother Teresa’s struggles. We talked about Os Guiness and his book about how to work through and resolve doubt. You can hear our chat through the media player at the bottom of this post.

Do you have doubts that you’ve been refusing to face? Don’t you think it’s time to be honest enough to yourself and before God to work through the issues?

Doubt can be a very healthy thing when it forces us to examine what and why we believe and many people have found that embracing their own struggles with faith has brought them even closer to God and given them even greater assurance. Are you prepared to face the tough issues?



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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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1 Comment

  • I saw this article about Mother Theresa, and it caught me by surprise. Isn’t it interesting that we disallow “giants of the faith” their own inner workings, forgetting that their doubts are the stepping stones to their growth?

    I like your comparison to the psalms: “When we look through the Psalms we find very similar themes when the writers call out to God and ask why he seems so distant.” Thank goodness that God is not shocked by our questions, our anguish, or our anger. In fact, praying the psalms is often the perfect outlet for much that we can’t find words for.

    Nice ruminations! Blessings, e-Mom

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