Craig Groeschel - The Benefit of Doubt
What do you do when you have questions about God, but you don’t have any easy answers? For example, you might have really prayed and believed by faith that God would heal your friend that had cancer, and you prayed and you prayed and you prayed, but your friend died anyway. Or you might find yourself right now going through something really, really difficult. You’re hurting and you’re wondering, how in the world could a good God love you and let you hurt in this way? What do you do when you wanna believe in God but you face spiritual doubts? What do you do whenever your faith feels a little bit fragile or God seems distant? Or maybe it’s not you that are struggling in your faith, but maybe it’s somebody that you know and love.
For example, you might be married and you thought, «Hey, we’re in a Christian marriage, we go to church together, we’re in Life.Church together,» and then one day your spouse comes up and says, «Hey, I’m not even sure I believe in God anymore». Or you raised your kid in church, they were in LifeKids and they were involved in Switch and they were bold in their faith, and then they go off to school, they get in with some new friends, they have professors that may not believe in God, and one day they just say, «Hey, I don’t really believe in God anymore,» and they walk away from their faith. Or maybe you have a friend that loved Jesus, but got hurt by someone in the church. They got mad at the church, they got mad at God.
Now they’ve deconstructed and they’ve walked away from their faith in Jesus. What do you do when you have spiritual questions and you can’t find easy answers? I’ll tell you just kind of bluntly, sometimes some of us, as Christians with really good intentions, we try to help, but we actually make things worse. Anybody know what I’m talking about? Sometimes someone’s going through something, they’re asking real questions and they’re in real pain, and with good intentions, we’ll like drop those little platitudes, those little Christian sayings. I call it bumper sticker theology. It’s just theology that fits on a bumper sticker. For example, we’ll say things like, «Hey, everything happens for a reason».
Someone may have just lost their child and you say that, and it doesn’t help. «Everything happens for a reason». Or someone says, «I’m not really sure I can believe this», and a Christian says, «The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it». Well, good for you, glad you have that kind of faith. But sometimes, with good intentions, that doesn’t actually help others. Or you might say, «Hey, don’t worry, God’s got this». Sometimes I look on and I say, «Actually, doesn’t look like God’s got this because I’m all of a mess right now». What do you do when you find yourself with real deep and sincere spiritual questions?
Now, for those of you that have never had that happen, like you ought to just sit right now and have like a praise break right where you are. Just thank God in heaven because it’s very likely that you’re in a minority because the weirdest thing, and I’m telling you, like you could literally be in church today, like in the middle of worship today, and everybody around you is praising God and you thought everything was just good, and then all of a sudden, it’s almost like these doubt missiles come into your mind. And you could be like, «I mean, is this stuff even true right now? I mean, like where is God when I’m hurting? And why do the bad things happen in this world? And why is it that I pray for things and they don’t happen»?
And you can literally have a moment of faith and then a moment later you have a moment of doubt and you say, «Is there something wrong with me? Am I really even a Christian at all»? It’s hard for me to talk about personal doubts publicly because I’m supposed to be your pastor full of faith, and I am your pastor full of faith most of the time. Some of the time. A lot of the time. Not all the time. It was crazy, is like, you put me in front of someone who’s not a Christian, and I have no doubt in my mind that God can do a miracle in their life, all day long, all day long. You put me in front of somebody, I’ll share my faith, we’ll talk, we’ll debate openly, and I’ve got tremendous faith.
You ask me, «Does God have the power to heal miraculously»? And I’ll tell you, «All day long, but not as often whenever I pray». It’s like, it seems like that. Super personal, Amy and I had someone that invited to come pray for a really special man that had ALS and the whole LifeGroup was there, and this was a family that we knew a lot of and went to pray for them. And we’re there and he’s in bad shape, and everyone’s looking to us. And they said, «Okay, Pastor Craig, would you pray»? And I sat there, heart racing, and I said, «Amy, why don’t you pray»?
And the reason why I wanted her to pray is because the last time I’d prayed for someone dying, the last four times I prayed and prayed and prayed, and they didn’t live. And I know God can do it, but he just hadn’t been doing it for me lately. And so if we can be real like that, the moment you start to have doubts, it gets really, really scary, because a lot of times you kind of wanna talk about it, you wanna ask questions, but sometimes in a church environment, you feel a little bit guilty, like, «I shouldn’t have that question». You might feel a little bit ashamed, you might worry, like, «Am I the only one? 'Cause I’m sitting on praise row, where they’re all jumping and lifting their hands and smiling and saying, 'Amen to the sermon.' And I wanna say, 'Amen, ' but right now my faith feels a little bit shaky».
And it’s not that you don’t believe in God, in fact, when you worry, it’s actually kind of maybe a good sign that you do wanna press through your doubts, but sometimes you just have questions and you don’t really feel safe asking them. So what do you do if you wake up and realize, «It’s not because God’s not real, but I’ve got questions and I don’t feel safe asking those questions»? What do you do? I wrote a book that releases this Tuesday. It’s called «The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer Faith». And the purpose of this book, quite honestly, is for some people that Amy and I know and love that have been walking away from the faith, like very close people.
And what I wanna do is, if you’re doubting, I wanna give you a resource that will help you wrestle with doubts in a way that I call constructive and helpful instead of destructive and harmful. And what I wanna do is I wanna give those of you that have someone close to you that you love, that may be going through a faith struggle, I wanna give you a tool to help them work through doubt and real questions in a helpful way, instead of what we often do in the church, inadvertently pushing them away.
So let’s start with this big premise and then we’re gonna dive into God’s word. What I wanna show you is that doubt isn’t the enemy of faith. Doubt is not the enemy of faith. In fact, doubt is often a pathway to a deeper and more meaningful faith. It is, it doesn’t mean that you’re losing your faith, it’s often an invitation to wrestle with some real questions, and to move into, to grow into a deeper faith. Now, to introduce some scriptures today, there’s something called the relatability principle. The relatability principle. And if you don’t know what that is, it’s kind of fun. It shows that you tend to dislike and distrust people whose lives seem perfect.
Do any of you know what I’m talking about? Raise your hand. Online you can type in the comment section, «I understand». You tend to dislike those whose lives seem perfect. And you tend to trust and connect with those people who have similar problems to you. For example, you don’t like the person at work whose desk is always organized, they’re always getting praised, their life looks perfect. Then you go to the store and you see that person with their kid and their kid’s having a meltdown, kid’s throwing a fit, the kid’s licking the floor at the grocery store. And you think, «Hey, we could be friends. You’re my people,» right? You see them going through something, you’re like, «I like you now, because your life is screwed up like mine».
And what’s interesting is, whenever I hear somebody else dealing with a doubt, it’s actually strangely comforting to me, when I talk to people that I respect that have a really sincere faith that also ask similar questions to me, it actually gives me comfort and helps me push through doubts. Let me show you in scripture some of the most faith-filled people who had some of the same questions you might have about their faith and relationship with God. We’ll start in the Old Testament, Sarah and Abraham, when God says, «Hey, guess what? Boom, congratulations, you’re gonna have a child». And they like go, «God, you’re kidding me? At this age? Ain’t no medicine for our problems». I know you guys aren’t with me. «At this age? That’s impossible, God. It’ll never happen».
We also look at the Israelites. God delivers them miraculously from the Egyptians. They walk through the Red Sea, and they’re like, «God, you’ve done miracles before, but we’re not sure you can do 'em again. We’re not sure we trust you now». Gideon, he’s like me, he’s like, «Hey, God, if you’re really with me, prove it, again, one more time. I know you’ve been faithful the last 47 times, you never let me down, but give me a sign one more time, God». John the Baptist, he devotes his life to preparing the way for Jesus. And John the Baptist looks on to Jesus and says, «Hey, Jesus, I knew you were the one. Now, I’m not so sure».
And then there’s Thomas, doubting Thomas, who says to Jesus, after the Resurrection, Jesus is raised from the dead, and Thomas says, «Jesus, I won’t believe unless I see it with my own eyes». It’s strangely comforting to me to see the people in the Bible that were full of faith also occasionally battling with faith questions. And it reminds us of really, really good news. If you ever find yourself doubting or struggling just a little bit, it shows us doubting doesn’t make you bad. It makes you human. It makes you human. Like you’re flawed and we’re broken and we are tainted by sin, pursuing a good and a loving God.
And my favorite example that really gives me a sense of like relief and hope is what happened after Jesus gave his life, when he was risen from the dead, and right before what’s known as the Ascension, when he ascended into heaven, which would’ve been really cool, I just kind of imagine, how did he do it? Was it kind of like Jesus is standing there and he’s about to ascend and it’s kinda like a… I mean, I don’t know, but that would be cool, right? I mean, just think about it.
Okay, so he’s about to be ascended and he’s up on this mountain, he’d been raised from the dead. 13 different times he appeared to the disciples. They’re eating with them, they’re having breakfast with them. I mean, 13 times, it’s recorded in scripture, that they have seen the risen Christ. They’re standing in front of him on a mountain, and scripture says this, «Then the 11 disciples,» 'cause Judas got canceled. «The 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him,» everybody say this aloud, online, type in the comment section just for fun the next two phrases, when they saw him, what did they do? They did two things, they what? «They worshiped him,» but what? «But some doubted».
Oh my goodness, that makes me feel so normal. Like they’re standing right in front of the risen Christ. He’s there. And some worshiped and some doubted. Those three words, «But some doubted». Think about this, those weren’t his enemies, those weren’t skeptics or strangers. Those were his disciples. These were the guys that saw him walk on water. These were the guys that saw him multiply the loaves and fishes, and had leftover doggy bags to take home. These were the guys that saw him cast out demons and raise the dead. And they’re looking at the risen Savior, and some worshiped and some doubted.
So what do you think Jesus did? Because he knew all things. When he’s standing there about to go to heaven, what do you think he did when his boys doubted? Think he rebuked them? Think he called them out? Do you think he screamed up, «Gabriel, send me some backup disciples 'cause I can’t do nothing with these guys,» right? No, Jesus continued to love them. And right after, the text says, «But some doubted». The very next verse in your Bible, Jesus gave them the most important assignment in the history of the world. The word of God says, «Some doubted, and then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them».
Can somebody thank God for 2,000 people being baptized on one weekend in the middle of our presence 'cause of the good God. «Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. Surely I am with you always 'til the end of the age.'» Some worshiped and some doubted. And Jesus looked at those who worshiped and those who doubted, and said, «Go into all the world and preach the risen Christ, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Make disciples. And I’m always gonna be with you». Why? Jesus said, «Go change the world», doubts it all.
In the middle of your worship and in the middle of your doubt, go into all the world and make disciples, because doubt isn’t the enemy of faith, but doubt is often a pathway to a deeper and more meaningful faith. So if you find yourself wake up one day and go, «I’ve got questions,» let’s try to identify why you doubt. And then over the next three weeks, let’s talk about what you do about your doubt. Why is it that most of us have questions? There’s three big reasons. Number one, you have questions that you can’t answer. You see something that doesn’t seem fair. There’s something in the Bible that doesn’t make sense. Someone raises a question, you’re kind of like, «I can’t make sense of this».
You have questions you can’t answer. You face situations that seem unfair. «Why did that happen? How could they do that? Where is God? And then why would somebody who calls themself a Christian do this»? And finally, you experience hurts that you can’t resolve? «I cannot even believe that someone would do that. Where is God in the middle of my pain»? If you find yourself in one of these situations, you got questions you can’t answer, you got hurts you can’t resolve, you got challenges with your faith. Where do we tend to go wrong? I would suggest that there are some of us in the Christian body that we really don’t have any bend. We don’t have any bend. For example, if a stick doesn’t bend, what does it do? It breaks, right?
And there are some people, you got no bend, or you grew up in a home with no bend. And so you come across something that seems like an apparent contradiction in the Bible. And because you don’t have any bend, you’re like, «Okay, I’m out». Or you meet a friend that’s like going, «You know what? I don’t believe in God anymore». Or you meet someone in school like, «Well, I’m a Muslim, and how can Jesus be the only way to God? That’s just stupid». Or you got a teacher that mocks your faith, like going, «Well, the Bible says this and I don’t believe tha and they didn’t all say this». Or you’ve got a Christian that hurts you or a spiritual leader that you look up to that lets you down, and if you’ve got no bend, you break.
And I need to say to some Christian parents right now, some of you need to get a little bend. Your kid comes in and asks questions, and sometimes you’re like, «How can you do that to me»? «I’m not doing it to you». They’re looking for real answers. Your kid might grow up in the church, and then they might all of a sudden go, «Well, I’m not sure about this,» or, «I’ve got real questions,» and they start to seek answers. And I want you to understand that if you raise your kid in church, your kid grew up watching your faith, your faith. And at some point, they may need to ask some real sincere questions to make your faith their faith. It’s part of the process. You probably did it at some point.
So if they start to question, don’t freak out, don’t bible sticker preach at them. Don’t tell 'em, «You’re grounded and shame them for it». Don’t panic, it’s not a time to panic, it’s a time to process it and talk about it. Talk about it openly. One of the best things parents can do when their kids tell 'em things, don’t freak out, just roll with it. You wanna keep 'em talking? Just don’t show emotion and keep on talking. And I would suggest that the church and the home should be the safest places to ask hard questions. The safest places.
You wanna ask about sexuality, ask it in the church and ask it in the homes. You wanna ask about heartbreak and Christians letting you down and the Bible and science and questions about a good God allowing suffering in the world and about the pain that you’re going through and about how someone could claim Christ and act like that and about pornography and about sexual temptation and about confusion and anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts. The church and the home should be the safest place to ask the hard questions. And you look at Thomas, he did this in the presence of Jesus. Like, «If Jesus made room for questions, shouldn’t we»?
Let me show you Thomas, scripture says this, «One of the 12 disciples, Thomas, was not with the others when Jesus came». So Jesus shows up, Thomas isn’t there, so he doesn’t see it. «They told him, 'We’ve seen the Lord.'» The verb in the Greek for seen it’s an active tense, and that means they said it over and over again, they’re going like, «We seen the Lord. We seen the Lord. We seen the Lord, he’s risen. We seen the Lord, we seen the Lord». It’s like your kids in the backseat of the car saying, «Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet»? That’s the Greek text. «We’ve seen the Lord». But Thomas is like, «Hey, I haven’t seen him. I won’t believe unless I see the nail wounds in his hands and put my fingers into them and place my hands in his side. You guys got to see, I haven’t seen it yet. I won’t believe unless I can see and touch».
And that’s probably the reason why we call Thomas doubting Thomas. And I’m gonna tell you right now, Thomas is getting a bad rap. He really is. In fact, what I wanna do is I wanna, just for a moment, I wanna work to dignify his doubts. I relate to Thomas. Some of you would too. He’s a realist. I’m kind of guessing, I’m reading into it. The dude was probably hurt somewhere in his life. Someone probably let him down. He probably has some disappointments. Thomas is like some of you, he’s been through some stuff. And his doubts don’t make him bad, it makes him human. In fact, I would suggest to you, if you asked me to rank in order the spiritual strength of the disciples, man, I promise you, I’m putting Thomas up high close to the top.
And let me tell you why. I’ll give you several examples. And this is so important to encourage you that doubt is not the enemy of faith, but often an invitation into a deeper and more meaningful and more personal faith. In John 14, Jesus said this, he said, «I’m gonna go to heaven. I’m gonna prepare a place for you». And Thomas is like, «Ah, ah». He’s in the back row, «Ah. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh». He asked a question, what did Thomas say? Thomas said this, «Hey, Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. You’re going away, you’re gonna prepare a place. We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way»? In other words, he’s just going like, «Jesus, we’re with you, just give me some details».
And I guarantee you Peter’s over there going, «I’m glad he asked that, I didn’t wanna ask that, but I’m glad he asked that». I mean, that’s going on, right? And then you remember whenever Lazarus died, and Jesus said, «Hey, let’s go to him». In John 11:16, «Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, 'Let us also go that we may die with him.'» Thomas, «If Jesus is gonna give his life and if Lazarus already did, 'Hey, we might as well die with Jesus too.'» That’s not weak faith. That’s bold loyalty. The guy had questions, and his questions didn’t ruin his faith, his questions actually gave him permission to grow through some questions and eventually strengthened his faith.
So if you have questions or somebody you know and love does, don’t panic, process it. And I want you to see how Jesus responded to Thomas’s questions. Watch this, remember, Thomas didn’t see Jesus like the other disciples. And then we see, «Eight days later, the disciples were together again, and this time, Thomas was with them». I want you to notice this. Eight days later, Thomas came back. He still hasn’t seen Jesus, but he came back. Sometimes one of the most faith-filled things you can do is come back. He didn’t leave the church. He didn’t quit his Sunday school class. He didn’t say, «All you disciples are a bunch of hypocrites». No, he came back, just like if you are struggling with some kind of doubt right now and you are in church or you’re watching online, congratulations, you came back, you came back. You’re trying to work through it. And eight days later, he showed back up. «Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them».
Now, again, that’s kind of cool, kind of like the, «That’s cool,» thing. Jesus isn’t in the room, the doors are locked, and they’re like. He’s threw the, I mean, I don’t know what he does, but like that’s, and then boom, there he is. So he’s in a physical body and yet he walks through walls, or shows up, or whatever, miracle. And he’s standing there and he says, «Peace be with you. Peace, peace, I’m here». Now, «Jesus said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here.'» Now here’s what’s interesting. Earlier, Thomas said, «I wanna touch him,» but Jesus wasn’t there, but Jesus knows this. And does he say, «Thomas, you have little faith, you can’t be one of my disciples. You’re always ask the dumb questions». No, what did he do? He says, «Thomas, hey, put your finger here and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound of my side. Don’t be faithless any longer, Thomas, believe».
And Thomas touches them and sees the wounds, and he says, «My Lord, my God». The doors were locked, Jesus is standing there, and he doesn’t shame Thomas for his questions, but he gives him exactly what he needed to believe in Jesus. And I believe God will do the same thing for you. Why? Because I promise you, God is not distant in your doubts. He’s not distant in your doubts. Our God is not a standoff savior. He’s coming to you to give you exactly what you need. And so if he feels far off, reach out to him. Why? Because he’s reaching out to you. And when I promise you, you can ask God questions, he can handle your questions. You can wrestle, you can struggle, you can work through your doubts. And because Thomas did this, he asked questions, and Thomas got answers.
And here’s what’s so cool, doubting Thomas, guess what he became? Hey, you know what he should be called? Faith-filled Thomas. That’s what he should be called. He should be called that, because it’s believed that he actually traveled to India in 52 AD and he started preaching the gospel. That’s what he did. He preached the risen Christ. And Thomas was starting churches from 52 AD until 72 AD, according to tradition, the enemies of Christ came up to Thomas and said, «Stop preaching Jesus. Stop preaching the resurrected Christ».
And according to tradition, Thomas refused to. And so they took a spear and drove it through his body. Think about this, Thomas, the disciple that didn’t believe until he saw the spear wound, was killed by a spear for the faith that he once questioned, showing us that your doubts don’t disqualify your faith. Jesus will meet you in your doubts. And I love the 23rd Psalm when David said this, David said, «Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil». Why? «For you are with me, for you are with me, for you are with me, for you’re with me».
If right now, maybe you’re not walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but you’re walking through the valley of the shadow of doubt, I want you to remember that he is with you. And what do you do when you’re in a valley? What do you do? You don’t stay in a valley. You keep on walking. You have to walk through the valley of the shadow of doubts. You keep walking.
If you’re in a valley right now, don’t let doubts be your dead end. You keep walking, you keep asking, you keep searching and you show back up, 'cause Jesus makes room for your questions. And he’ll often give you exactly what you need, faith, belief. And I hope you understand, faith is not a destination. Don’t like arrive at faith, like, «I’ve graduated faith». No, it’s an ongoing journey. And so that’s what I’m doing right now. Whenever someone is sick and needs healing, I do what God’s word says. If there are any sick among you, let the elders lay hands on the sick and the prayer of faith they believe will heal the sick. That by the stripes of Jesus, we believe that people can be healed.
And so I keep praying, I keep believing, I keep trusting, and I keep asking, keep asking, seeking and knocking, and believing by faith that God is a good God. And even if I don’t feel faith in the moment, I can promise you, if it’s a muster seed of faith, I’ll pray for healing. I’ll pray for restoration of your marriage. I’ll pray for healing in a broken relationship. I’ll pray for financial provision. I’ll pray for God to meet your need. I’ll pray for God to heal your anxiety. With every bit of faith that I have, I trust God because he is with me. Doubt is not the enemy of faith, but it’s often a pathway to a deeper and more meaningful faith. So, Father, do a work in our hearts today, we pray.
At all of our churches, without looking around, I wonder how many of you would, please, nobody look around, I wonder how many of you would just say maybe honestly that there might be some spiritual questions that are causing you challenges right now, would you lift up your hands? Just say, «Yeah, there might be some doubts». And so many of you. Online, you can type in the comment section that, «I’ve got real spiritual questions or doubts». Just type in whatever’s true to you. I wonder how many of you would say that there’s someone in your life that you love, a family member, a close friend, someone that’s got real faith questions right now, would you lift up your hands? A bunch of you, you can type in the comment section, pray for a loved one that’s that’s doubting.
Father, I wanna pray for those two groups today. And God, I thank you for the honesty of those who’d say that they do have questions. And God, I thank you that this is a safe place to process. No judgment, but a safe place, because Jesus made room for doubts. And so God, we take them to you. We think you’re a good God. And I pray God that we would walk with others with grace and with love, showing grace and truth, and helping others experience your goodness. We’re not gonna let doubt be a dead end. We’re gonna walk through the valley of the shadow of doubt, God, 'cause you are with us. So, God, we pray that this would be a very safe place, a healing place, to ask hard questions, and in your presence, God, to find truth and real answers.
As you keep praying today at all of our churches, there are those of you that I’d say have real spiritual uncertainty when it comes to your standing with God. Like if I just maybe could sit down with you and say, «How do you feel about where you are with God? If something happened to you and your life were over, where would you go? Are you absolutely certain that you would spend eternity in the presence of God»? And if you say no, then you got some spiritual uncertainty. And what I wanna tell you just very lovingly and pastorally is that there is a way to know absolutely with a deep spiritual assurance that your sins are forgiven and that you belong to God, that you’ve been adopted into his family.
The way is Jesus, he is the son of God who was without sin, who died on the cross and God raised him from the dead so that anyone, this includes you, who calls on his name, the name that is above every name, when you call on Jesus, he forgives all of your sins and he makes you brand new. What do we do? We just step away from our sinful life and we surrender all of our lives to Jesus. He becomes our Savior and our Lord. Today, at all of our churches, those of you who say, «I don’t know where I stand,» hey, we saw 2,000 people this weekend baptize, saying their sins have been forgiven, you may wanna call on him today, you may wanna stick around after another service and you may wanna be baptized, because at this moment, you are watching, you’re not here by accident, you’re here because of the love of God, the purpose of God. He’s reaching out to you.
When you draw near to him, he draws near to you. At all of our churches, you say, «I don’t know where I stand, but I wanna be assured. I step away from my sins. I give my life to Jesus». When you do, you become new. All of our churches, that’s your prayer. «Jesus, forgive me of my sins. I give my life to you». That’s your prayer, lift your hands high right now, all over the place, say, «Yes, I settle it». Right back over here and over here as well. God bless you guys. Others today say, «Yes, Jesus, I surrender my life». Lift your hands up and say, «I surrender and give my life to you». In the comment section, right back over here, praise God for you. In the comment sections, type in, «I am surrendering my life to Jesus». And at all of our churches and online, would you just pray?
Heavenly Father, forgive me for all of my sins. Save me, make me brand new. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, so I could know you, so I could do your will, God, so I could show your love. Thank you for new life. I give you all of mine. In Jesus' name I pray.