Sweet Home Santa Barbara

Friday, December 28, 2012

Doubt

I'm reading this book right now:


and only about half way through, so no where near close to finishing it. But I've come across a few quotes that I felt deserved to be highlighted. 

And dog tabbed. 

And one in particular that deserved it's own blog post. 

If Christ played with doubt, so must we. 
If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, 
if He burst out from the Cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
then surely we are also permitted doubt
But we must move on. 
To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility
as a means of transportation. 

Bam. 

So, so good. 

I feel like I have tried to portray this so many times, and this quote just sums it up perfectly. 

It's okay to doubt. 

It's okay to be confused. To have questions. 

And it's okay to not have answers. 

It's called faith because we don't have all of the answers, and honestly, we never will no matter how strong our faith is. 

I will be honest, recently I've had a few intense confrontations with God. 

I've gotten mad at Him. 

I've wondered why I don't see response to my prayers. 

Why can't I run to Him when I need a hug? (literally speaking here)

Why can't He yell loud enough for me to clearly hear? 

Why can't He fix this broken, broken world? 

And specifically, why can't He fix the broken people around me?

Why can't He fix the broken areas of my life?

And if I'm being truly honest, sometimes I get frustrated when I feel like I don't get "rewarded" for obeying Him. 

Because sometimes, obeying Him and living His way in this world is just plain hard for me. 

How twisted is that? 

I get frustrated when I don't get a pat on the back when He came and died/suffered/was humiliated for me

But that's what I love about Him. God doesn't ask me to be perfect. And He loves me through these little temper tantrums of mine. 

Jesus warns us that living a Godly life will be hard at times. 

But it also will be worth it.

He doesn't expect me to not have doubts. He simply wants me to bring those doubts to Him. 

To bring my questions, concerns, fears, anything to Him. 

So don't let doubt keep you from the Lord. 

Let it bring you closer to Him. 

Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have,
for God can be trusted to keep His promise.

Hebrews 10:23

4 comments:

Mosby Hardin said...

Love this post! I have been wanting to read this book for a while. My borther got it for me for Christmas and now I cannot wait to read it!

Melissa Jo said...

Preach it sista! BTW that verse you put at the end is my all time favorite verse. I understand where your coming from completely and couldn't be more thankful that we do have a God who doesn't expect perfection and forgives us when we fall short. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who can honestly say I've actually been mad at God before. It is difficult and frustrating but He is still there and unwavering. Which is sometimes even MORE frustrating - because your thinking 'your so darn perfect' and I will NEVER be. No matter how hard I try I can't measure up - but that is where His sweet spirit carries us into His plan for us.

He is ALWAYS the same, and I am so incredibly thankful for that.

Ashleigh said...

I watched the movie but did not read the book! The movie was good :)

Rach said...

What an amazing quote! One of my besties read the book and loved it so I went to the movie with her. I wasn't super impressed by the movie (I had no idea what it was about so I was taken very aback by all the tragedy). Anyway, that quote really is powerful! Thanks for sharing!