Greetings, fellow seekers and followers of faith! I recently had the opportunity to dive deep into some challenging topics in a recent episode of our podcast. We ventured into the realm of Christian ministry, a world that can often feel solitary, overwhelming, and fraught with doubts.
There’s a beautiful analogy we explored in the episode that I’d love to unpack further for you. Imagine a house – not just any house, but your spiritual home. Now, picture two men who own identical houses.
One man, upon discovering termites gnawing at the very foundation of his home, panics and decides to burn the whole house down. Seems extreme, right? But aren’t we sometimes guilty of the same? We encounter doubts, those spiritual ‘termites’ in our faith, and our first instinct might be to reject our faith entirely, to burn it all down.
The second man, however, handles it differently. He acknowledges the termites, yes, but instead of giving into fear, he calls in an expert. He doesn’t reject his entire home, but addresses the issue, ensuring the house’s longevity. This, my friends, is how we should approach our doubts. Not by disregarding our faith, but by seeking the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of trusted Christian sources.
As we explored in the podcast, “Don’t just tell yourself to stop thinking that. Like you’re not gonna just silence that chat in your mind… as you grapple with a doubt it becomes less scary.” Confronting doubts head-on, with the intention of understanding them, diminishes their power over us.
In fact, it’s important to note that doubts are not antithetical to faith, but rather a part of its journey. The Bible is replete with examples of believers who had doubts, from Abraham to Thomas. And yet, their faith persisted, even grew stronger. As James 1:6 tells us, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt.”
When confronted with intrusive thoughts or doubts, we need to invite them in, as uncomfortable as that might seem. As the podcast points out, “When you put yourself in a place where you need another person, that’s when you really feel the depth of community that you’re trying so hard to build.”
The doubts, the questions, the fears – they are all part of our faith journey. And the beautiful thing is that there are answers out there, offered by God through His Word, and through the community of believers around us. As we discussed in the podcast, “Really good resources are out there and as you grapple with a doubt it becomes less scary. As you grapple with it, it feels like to engage with it is to make it more scary. I’ve generally found it’s the opposite.”
So let’s not burn our spiritual houses down at the first sign of termites. Let’s call in the experts, dig into reliable Christian sources, and tackle those doubts head-on. As we do, we’ll find our spiritual houses not only stand firm but become more resilient, ready to weather any storm.
