The St. Thomas Project
These days you can find ANY type of study Bible or devotional to suit your individual needs
You can get a youth study Bible (teen boy OR teen girl), a tween study Bible, a key-word study Bible, a women’s study Bible, a study Bible that focuses on apologetics, another that emphasizes “life in the Spirit.” One is called the “Fire Bible,” and, of course, you can get a devotional or study Bible done by your favorite pastor or theologian. The list is endless. In the same vein, I did a quick search for various types of devotionals and I came up with these, just to name a few: devotionals for girls, boys, graduates, those who have just lost a loved one, empty nesters, tweeners, Baby Boomers, millennials, mothers, fathers, women, men, those expecting, those not expecting, athletes, couples, singles, recently divorced, thinking about getting a divorce (jk), teachers . . . again, the list goes on and on and on.
Well, you are welcome, everybody! I have decided to ADD to the list! Yes, that’s right. This is a devotional or another very specific group of individuals, Christians who struggle with unbelief. “But,” you may ask, “Bruce, doesn’t every devotional do that, namely, focus on helping Christians with their faith?” Yes, absolutely, well, the good ones anyway. And I do not pretend to be in the same camp with giants of the faith who have written so eloquently and powerfully on this topic. In these meditations, however, I am focusing on something more narrow than the garden variety, every day lack of faith that all Christians exhibit in the “normal” process of sanctification. I am writing specifically for professing Christians who experience an on-going, substantive doubt about the existence of God and/or the veracity of the Christian faith in general.
Various terms have been used to describe these individuals, skeptical Christians, reflective Christians, doubting Thomas’s, questioning Christians. Whatever we are, some individuals are cursed (or blessed, depending on how you view it) with an inability to “just believe.” If you perceive a nagging voice in your head saying any of the following, this devotional might be for you:
“How do you know for sure that it’s all true?”
“It’s all too good to be true and only naïve people fall for such tales.”
“Only a fool would make a firm religious commitment without absolute certainty.”
“Faith is for the weak and the uninformed.”
“The only reason you believe in the Christian faith is because you were raised that way.”
“Since you cannot prove definitively that it’s true, the better position would be that of agnostic.”
I am writing in the hope of assisting, if in some small way, my brothers and sisters who hear this persistent voice. “But oh, Bruce,” some might say, “aren’t people who entertain such questions sinning by persisting in unbelief?” Maybe. I’m not sure, but there are a few things I am sure of. First, those of us who wrestle with doubt do not relish in it and welcome it. I can testify that it is a miserable existence to have been raised in a Christian home and culture and experience the paralysis of uncertainty about that same faith. Second, what I observe in Scripture concerning godly individuals who struggled with any kind of sin is that they fought against the sin and/or unbelief. Wrestling, struggling, fighting, this is what I am advocating in this devotional. If fact, these verbs define the very purpose of it. About the valid question of whether or not entertaining these questions constitutes sinful unbelief, I will explore the difference between healthy questioning and sinful unbelief in at least one of the meditations. Stay tuned.
Finally, I mentioned that I am addressing Christians who struggle with unbelief. Another group of individuals who could benefit from these musings might be seekers, individuals who are curious, but open-minded. To all who choose to continue, blessings to you and may God strengthen your faith no matter where you are in your journey at this point.
