When Doubt Creeps Into Our Faith
The first chapter of Luke’s gospel offers an interesting contrast when it comes to the challenge of walking in faith during those times when we have questions about what we’re hearing from God.
After a short introduction, the chapter provides two stories in which Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, foretells the birth of a child. Zechariah, an elderly priest, is on duty in the temple when Gabriel appears and tells him that his barren wife, Elizabeth, will have a son that they will name him John. This child, Zechariah is told, will be a “joy and delight” to him, will be filled with the Holy Spirit before he is even born, will bring many people back to God, and will prepare the way for the Lord. (Luke 1:11-17)
Six months later, Gabriel shows up in Nazareth and tells Mary that she will give birth to Jesus, even though she’s a virgin. Jesus, she is told, will be “great” and will be called the “Son of the Most High.” He will take the throne of David and reign forever over Jacob’s descendants, ruling a kingdom that will never end. (Luke 1:30-33)
In other words, He will be the Messiah.
So, an old woman who has never had children will become the mother of John the Baptist, and a teenager who’s never been with a man will become the mother of the Son of God.
Reality check: How would you have received such news?
The responses of Zechariah and Mary were almost identical and yet totally different.
Zachariah: “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Luke 1:18)
Mary: “How will this be … since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34)
Now consider Gabriel’s reaction to each of those questions.
Zachariah: “The angel said to him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.’” (Luke 1:19-20)
Mary: “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.’” (Luke 1:35-37)
Zechariah got a rebuke.
Mary got an explanation.
The perplexing question: Why?
On the surface, they both expressed what, at least in my mind, would be reasonable doubts about what they were told. How could an old, barren woman have a child? How could a teenage virgin have a child?
So why were the responses from Gabriel so different?
Doubt vs. Curiosity
Reading through the Bible, we find many other stories where God, through an angel, a vision, or a direct word, told people something that, by human standards, was utterly unbelievable. It’s rare that anyone responded with something like, “Got it, Lord. Let’s roll!” Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) and Peter jumped out of the boat, but Moses balked, Sarah laughed (and denied laughing), Gideon made excuses, and Jonah fled.
What I see is a long line of people responding pretty much like I am prone to respond when I sense God telling me something that doesn’t make sense to my limited mind – with a lack of faith that causes me to doubt God and fight against His will for my life.
You want me to quit my job and freelance for a living? That’ll never work. Who would hire me? … You want me to write a book and publish it? Who would buy it? And you know I stink as a salesman. … You want me to ask Audrey to marry me? She’s way, way, way out of my league! … You want me to move to Hot Springs? Really? I’m pretty comfortable where we are, thank you very much. … You want me to lead a small group? I’m not qualified for that. You need to pick someone else…
Like Zechariah (and Moses, Gideon, and Jonah), I’ve been reprimanded a few times by the hand of God and, thankfully, found my way back on course. But what can we learn from Zechariah and Mary that might help us face fewer reprimands and receive more explanations?
Zechariah was old and, like his wife, he was considered “righteous in the sight of God.” (Luke 1:6) He was a priest who had served the Lord for decades. He had studied the scriptures. He had seen God at work in his life and in the lives of others. Perhaps Gabriel expected him to have the spiritual maturity to embrace the miracle. Perhaps that’s why he labeled Zechariah’s doubts as “unbelief.”
Mary’s response, however, doesn’t look like doubt as much as it looks like the curiosity of an innocent young girl. She was spiritually mature for her age but she was still just a teenager. She lacked the experience and knowledge that comes with age, all of which makes her confusion and her questions more understandable.
These two stories leave me with a tremendous amount of gratitude for a God who allows me to bring my doubts to Him and who, I believe, provides a special degree of comfort when I do it with curiosity rooted in faith – when I tell him I believe but ask Him to help me with my unbelief, when I tell him I believe but that I don’t fully understand, when I express my human weakness and cry out for his supernatural support.
In my limited experience, when we seek answers from God with pure motives and with the faith that He can pull off what seems impossible to us, He will answer us and tell us “great and unsearchable things” that we don’t know. (Jeremiah 33:3) Then we can confidently repeat the words of Mary: