It is important again to remind you that I am not seeking to offer formulaic answers on how to resolve our skepticism. I don’t have them. I only seek to share what, at times, has been (and indeed continues to be) fundamentally important for me. Confession seems unnatural in times of doubt because what lies behind our doubt is a sense of pain. The pain can stem from disappointment, the loss of a loved one, a promise from someone we trust that has gone unmet, or our general efforts towards obedience and faithfulness that result in hardship and pain. When I feel the pain associated with doubt I am typically more inclined to desire an apology, feeling I’ve been wronged. This is not meant to suggest that those of us who are struggling with doubt as the result of some abuse is somehow intrinsically our fault, and therefore needs to be confessed. That is not the sort of confession that I am referring to here.
I believe that confession for me is an acknowledgment of my own limits and a recognition that God is beyond limits. This whole discussion reminds me of the conversation between Job and God (Job 38-42). Job is described as “a man blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” and yet his life meets with unspeakable calamity (certainly an ample source for understandable doubt). When I read the book of Job, I want Job’s experience to be justified. I want believe that my own experiences of pain and in a larger sense, the suffering I witness around me, is reasonable, explainable and fixable. I want to be able to answer the question of “why” and be reassured of the “what” that is to come. I want it to make sense and so did Job. It is in this place that God meets Job.
Look at Job’s conclusion… (Job 42:1-6)
1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
This is, in a sense, Job’s confession. When it is all said and done, God does not offer Job the reasons or meaning behind his experiences. After everything that Job has been through, he comes to the realization that for him an answer in not found in the justification of his pain, in a logical explanation of the “whys” or even in a glimpse of some ultimate good. After systematically exposing Job to that which he lacks, God now restores Job with the knowledge that He is sufficient. What Job does not know, God knows, what he cannot do, God does and who he cannot be, God is.
There is a freedom that comes from confession. Letting go in the midst of our fiercest doubt can perhaps be the part of the process in which our faith comes back into focus.
Pastor Sterling Moore
Posts
3 comments:
Thank you for expounding on this topic. The thoughts here are kind of a mind bender. I hate to admit that I don't always understand why things happen, but it is a choice of my will to accept my inability and put my trust in my God. My prayer is that I will be more like Him through each life experience.
Good. However the writer's intellect kind of gets in the way here. Use more simple terms. This seems like a book for very well educated people and one already GROUNDED in belief of jesus Christ!
Love this! Confession, indeed! Confessing to God that I have have let my fears, hurts and/or insecurities shadow His greatness. Confessing my trying to have absolute control over my life (and others'!). Confessing that I keep forgetting that HE is Sovereign over ALL things - ultimately in charge of all that happens in my life and the rest of the world, and that He is SO trustworthy. When I confess that I have let my pain or fear or need to control have power in my life that only God deserves, I do feel that FREEDOM that you talk about Pastor Sterling...freedom to wrestle through my doubts...to grow through them and allow God to use them to make my view of Him BIGGER. Freedom to overcome my fears and work through my pain. Freedom to trust God more. And then, like Job, I can realize that what I thought I knew or had heard about God was nothing in comparison to what I came to KNOW in my heart by trusting Him with all of my life (even the unsavory parts) and growing through my doubt.
A good word for the people, Pastor!
Post a Comment