Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
When I came upon this verse, I couldn’t remember reading it before. Obviously I have, but I slowed down and really started to think about it. I didn't remember meditating on it, really pondering the meaning. It's written by Jude, Jesus's brother, who writes just one short little chapter of the book of Jude right before Revelation. It's very near the end where he says this, and here's how the ESV puts it. It says, "Have mercy on those who doubt."
When Doubt Enters In
There are going to be times where you doubt. There are going to be times where your faith wavers. I want to say, that's okay. Jude here says to be patient with those who doubt, and to have mercy for those who doubt. Sometimes, that means being patient with yourself.
Let's ask for just a minute, what does it mean to doubt? What does it mean for our faith to waver in this context? Well, you know this—the Bible says a lot of outrageous things that are sometimes, very often, beyond reason. They are beyond our presuppositions. They are beyond our beliefs. Things like, there is one God who exists eternally in three persons. That's an outrageous thing that the Bible says. Or that we human beings, you and me, are wicked in heart. In fact, we're so wicked in heart that we have alienated ourselves from God and from one another—an outrageous thing. Or what about the very truth of the Gospel, that God has sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could be reconciled with God? That is an outrageous claim.
Believing those outrageous claims of the Bible requires faith. When faith wavers, as it does, doubt rises up. We might ask questions like, is God really this good? Is God really in control? Does God really love me? Am I really as bad as the Bible says I am? Does God really have a good plan for my life? When you ask those questions, when I ask those questions, what's happening? Well, I am doubting.
What We Need in Times of Doubt
What do you need in those times of doubt? Jude knows what you need. You don't need condemnation. You don't need to be belittled. You don't need good or better arguments. You need patience. You need mercy.
Here's the reality. We say this: You are saved by faith alone. Right? It's not about what you do. It's about what Christ has done. So, we are saved, we are justified by faith alone. And sometimes your faith is going to be great, and sometimes your faith is not going to be great. It doesn't say that we're saved by great faith alone. No, friends, we are saved by faith alone.
The next time you doubt—maybe it'll be today or tomorrow—the next time you feel your faith wavering, don't condemn yourself. Rather, cry out to God, as we're told in Mark chapter 9, verse 24, and say, "I believe, but help my unbelief." It's what it's like when we doubt, when our faith wavers. Remember our verse in Jude chapter 1, verse 22: "You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering."
