Do you ever struggle with doubts?

Today I was reading the news on a major network news site and clicked on a link that said “Mama June” from the show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (I’ve only watched 1 episode … really), had lost 100 pounds without dieting or exercising. I clicked the link and it ended up being an infomercial by Dr. Oz for a plant supplement that grows in Southern Asia. “100 pounds without exercising or dieting”; if something seems too good to be true it usually is.

In John 20:24-29 we read of the resurrected Christ appearing to the disciples in the Upper Room. Before He does, the disciples start telling Thomas that they have seen Him alive, but to Thomas it seems too good to be true and he doubts. Then the Lord shows up and everything changes. In your faith life some who are reading this are struggling with doubts. I believe Thomas’ doubts ended up being one of his greatest assets. Sincere doubts, that are handled properly, can leave your faith stronger. So what should you do if your faith life is plagued with doubts?

1. Acknowledge your doubts – We tend to ignore or at least pretend the doubts aren’t there; or as a minimum keep them hidden from others. We do this because we associate doubts with weak faith. But I believe doubts can also be a sign of growing faith. I need to explain what I mean by doubt here. Doubt to me means you are undecided or wavering between two positions. Unbelief on the other hand is a willful decision to stand against the truth. There are a number of reasons we have doubts. Maybe its intellectualism that causes you to wrestle with doubt; you have learned things that challenge what you believe. Maybe its emotionalism. “Mountain top faith” is not sustainable; there would be no mountains unless there are also valleys nearby. Maybe for you it is comparisons where you look at others and wonder why God seems to be treating you differently. Or maybe it’s a life situation where things have not gone the way you expected and now you are plagued by doubts. First you must acknowledge their existence.
2. Look to God for help – When the names of certain bible characters are mentioned there is a descriptor that is immediately attached to their name. Examples would be Judas the one who betrayed Jesus; Noah the one who built the ark; Thomas the one who doubted. Do you realize the bible is filled with people of faith who doubted? Genesis 18 Sarah laughed when God said she was going to have a baby in her old age. Peter walked on water until he took his eyes off the Lord and looked at the storm around him and began to sink. Jesus said of John the Baptist there was no greater man born of woman. This same John, who said of Jesus when He came to be baptized, that He was the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” later when imprisoned sends word to Jesus asking “Are you the One, or should I seek another?” Doubts! Don’t miss this. Where was Thomas when he doubted? He was with the other disciples. Were all of his questions answered before the Lord showed up? No but Thomas put himself in a position where God could answer them. Don’t give up on the church or Christian friends because of your doubts. Acknowledge your doubts, then turn to God for help, and finally … 
3. Accept what God offers – What was it Thomas needed? I believe in light of the crucifixion what he needed most was comfort and reassurance. And what does the Lord offer? When Jesus enters the room in verse 26 He says, “Peace to you.” Jesus could have scolded Thomas with something like “After three years of seeing what you have seen you doubt Me?” Jesus could have said He was “hurt” by Thomas’ unbelief, or He could have shamed him for a lack of faith. But instead Jesus responds with grace. He allows Thomas to touch and thus exercise his doubts. Thomas then made one of the greatest professions of faith ever; “My Lord, and my God.”

Today Thomas is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” But that’s not what history records of Thomas. Thomas, after this encounter with Jesus ends up a missionary in India where one he’s martyred for his faith by an angry mob that threw him off of a cliff. Today if the devil is attaching the descriptor “doubting” next to your name acknowledge the fact that you do have doubts, but don’t stop there. Bring those doubts to God and receive what He offers you. Your struggle with doubt today doesn’t have to be a thing of weakness. It can be one of those times of great growth in your life. Like Thomas, it’s not where you are right now today that matters as much as where the Lord can and will take you by faith.

Can a Christian be depressed?

For some reason many Christians feel they cannot admit to having feelings of depression; I actually talked to a doctor who is a Christian one time about depression and he told me depression is strictly a spiritual battle and if I read my bible more and prayed more I would get better. I tried that for a few years and when it didn’t help, thankfully I had the wisdom to go to a different doctor and get the help I needed.

In Psalm 42:1-6 it is apparent that David battled depression. The scripture records he wrote: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.”

If you are battling depression today, let me suggest three things that hopefully will help you get past it. First, you have to admit there is a problem. In Psalm 42, David is not trying to hide it; he is openly admitting he has a problem. Charles Spurgeon battled depression. He once preached a sermon entitled The Christian’s Heaviness and Rejoicing where he said, “I was lying upon my couch during this last week, and my spirits were sunken so low that I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I knew not what I wept for—but a very slight thing will move me to tears just now—and a kind friend was telling me of some poor old soul living near, who was suffering very great pain, and yet she was full of joy and rejoicing. I was so distressed by the hearing of that story, and felt so ashamed of myself, that I did not know what to do; wondering why I should be in such a state as this; while this poor woman, who had a terrible cancer, and was in the most frightful agony, could nevertheless ‘rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” In Numbers 11 Moses asked God to kill him so that he didn’t have to deal with the Hebrews pettiness any longer? In Job 3 Job asked why didn’t he die when he came forth from the womb? Jeremiah battled depression as he wrote in 20:14-15 “Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me! Let the man be cursed who brought news to my father, saying, ‘A male child has been born to you!’ making him very glad.'"

Second, to deal with depression, you have to acknowledge the possible causes of it. For some it is money problems and for others it involves people problems. For some it is a matter of perspective; a bad attitude will ruin a good day every time. For others there are physical problems, sickness or lack of exercise for instance, that contribute to the depression.  For some there are emotional issues like the sudden loss of health or a relationship and for others there are definitely spiritual causes that contribute to depressive feelings.

Third, you must attack the feelings of depression. In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah is depressed. He’s just witnessed a huge victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, only to have Queen Jezebel put a contract on his head. He finds himself under a ‘broom tree’ and the way the Lord ministered to him is I believe the way He will minister to you today. First God didn’t tell Elijah to ‘suck it up’ or ‘get over it’. God didn’t judge him or chastise him. What he tells Elijah to do is rest. Our bodies are designed to where we need rest and if we are not getting enough, they tend to break down physically and emotionally. Second, God wants to make sure Elijah rediscovers Him. He sends the prophet to Mt. Horeb which is called the ‘Mountain of God’ some 200 miles away. There from outside the cave Elijah hid in, God called to him and he rediscovered God. Third, Elijah experienced reassignment; he was told to start serving others once again. And fourth he was told to build relationships. Elijah was isolated and felt alone, and after he rested and rediscovered the Lord, God provided for him a genuine friend named Elisha. God made us for relationships; with Him and with others. One of the best ways to deal with emotional pain is through personal contact with a friend.

For some of you reading this God is calling out to you. He’s not calling from the fire, wind, or earthquake; He calls to you from His still small voice. He is whispering to your soul, ‘It is time to leave the cave.’ As Max Lucado once said, “God likes you just the way you are but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.”

Why do bad things happen to God's people?

Today I find myself asking an age-old question with a slightly different take on it. I’ve been asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” While I understand the question it is built on a faulty premise; that there are people who are ‘good’. Romans 3:12 states “there is none righteous, no not one.” If that’s true the question could rightfully be asked, “Why do bad things happen to bad people?” But for most reading this, the question is phrased still differently; “Why do bad things happen to God’s people?” That’s the rub for those of us who know Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” So why do bad things happen to God’s people? I think there are a few answers worth considering.

1. Pain makes us focus on what is most important – to put this another way, pain has a way of improving our perspective. While in seminary I had a pretty difficult job where I went into the jail 5 days a week and spoke to offenders of non-violent crimes. Life was hard adjusting to having a 1 year old daughter, being a student, and working full-time. Then out of the blue one day, after a routine doctor appointment, I was told I had a blood disease that “about 90% of the people with this live.” Quickly my perspective switched from I have a tough job working with difficult people to am I going to live to see my little girl grow up.
2. Pain reminds me I need help from outside of myself – as long as I can ‘deal’ with everything that comes my way, why would I need God to help me? The greatest problem any of us face is our lost condition without Christ. This pain brought on by hopelessness and helplessness, we know from the scripture, can only be dealt with through the blood of Jesus Christ. Pain reminds me that there are some things in life that no matter how hard I try, I cannot make them any better; that I need help from someone else.
3. Pain happens so I will learn to trust only in God – this one is really pretty easy to understand. God allows us to go through tough times because it’s only when we have to trust Him do we really learn that we can trust Him.
4. Pain prepares me to help others – nothing is ever wasted with God. The pain we experience today, while God did not cause it, He will use it to His glory. That blood disease I had, God did not cause that; I got sick because I live in a fallen world inside of a fallen body. But God did use it by allowing me to cross paths with others dealing with the same illness and questions I had pondered. God did not cause Jan’s two miscarriages, but He has used them by giving us the opportunity to minister to others who were experiencing the same heartache that we had to work through.

Recently I had back surgery and have a 6-inch scar on my spine to prove it. The recovery was painful; the first few days I was praying ‘come quickly Lord Jesus.’ I didn’t want to have to endure another minute of that pain. Now I am past that and if you were to see my back you’d simply see a scar. But that scar has a story behind it. Friend every scar you have has a story to tell as well; maybe from a surgery, an injury, an accident, or battle. Scars prove two things to you and to those who see them. They prove that you have suffered and they also prove you have survived. So when pain comes and the hurt is excruciating and you don’t feel like going on, know that the God who delivered you in the past, you can trust Him to deliver you again. To live is Christ and to die is gain; we are winners either way!

When heaven is silent ...

Our 30^th President was Calvin Coolidge. President Coolidge was a man of few words and when he did speak he was known for his bluntness. One time a female journalist said to the President, “Mr. President, I made a $100 bet with another journalist that I could get you to say more than three words in this interview. Would you care to comment?” President Coolidge smiled at her and said, “You lose”. From then on he was often referred to by the nickname “Silent Cal”.

There are times when we want to refer to God as “Silent God”. In times of painful trials and tribulations we often cry out, “Why, God? Why me? Where are you?” and in response it seems that heaven is silent; more than once this has been my experience. Job in the bible is the poster child for enduring pain, suffering, and loss. He’s a wealthy family man with 10 children, and God declares he is “righteous”. Satan then accuses God of having bought Job’s worship by blessing him so much. God allows a satanic attack where job loses his wealth, and his children. When Job still doesn’t turn on God, Satan inflicts him with boils from his head to toe. It’s at this time his wife turns on him asking if he still held to his integrity; she wanted him to admit all of their problems were because of him and his sin. As she tells him to “curse God and die” (see Job 2:9), Job’s three ‘friends’ show up and tell Job there must be some great sin in his life or he’d not be having the troubles he is.

For about 35 chapters Job questions his friends and also questions God. While his friends are a broken record saying it must be his sin, God is silent. It’s not until Job 38 that God answers, and when He does, He answers Job with questions of His own. In Job 38:3 God says to Job “I’m going to question you and you will answer Me.” In chapters 38-41, God asks Job no less than 187 questions. Questions like “Where were you when I created the earth?” (38:4-7); “How many sunrises have you made?” (38:12-13); and “Can you control the stars?” (38:31-33).

Let me suggest three lessons that Job learned, that are lessons we need to know when heaven seems silent.

Lesson #1 – God often speaks to us during our storms. Job 38:1 says that “God answered Job out of the whirlwind”. The world whirlwind, according to Strong’s, can be translated ‘hurricane’. So God spoke to Job out of a great storm. I believe God still speaks to us in our storms. Whatever storm you face today; marital, financial, familial, relational, whatever, if you will listen for His voice I think God will speak to you out of that storm. Often the reason heaven seems silent, at least to me, is because I want a different answer than what God seems to be giving.

Lesson #2 – We are speechless before God’s power and His wisdom. In Job 23:3-4 Job had boasted, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” Job wants to go all Larry King on God; God you sit there and I will ask the questions and you answer them. But after hearing the 187 questions from God, in 42:6 Job says he “abhors” himself. The word “abhor” is the Hebrew word ‘galal’ which means lightweight. In other words Job becomes overwhelmed by God’s greatness and His ignorance of the ways of God and admits when compared to God he is an intellectual lightweight.

Lesson #3 – There is peace when you trust in the sovereignty of God. The easiest way to define sovereignty in my mind is by saying “God has the right to do whatever He pleases.” God rules and reigns and His way and will is always perfect.

So if you are walking in troubled silence today, and God does not seem to be answering, I would encourage you to remember the words to Arron’ Shust’s song My Savior My God. The words say, “I am not skilled to understand, What God has willed what God Has planned. I only know at His right hand, Stands One who is my Savior.” Here’s a simple prayer you may need to pray today. “Father, I don’t understand You or Your ways today. But I will trust You with today and trust You with all my tomorrows.” Be blessed and know you are never alone (see Hebrews 13:5).

The International Mission Board decision to reduce the number of missionaries on the field

On August the 27^th the IMB ‘senior leadership’ led by our IMB President, Dr. David Platt, presented their plan to put the IMB on a more stable financial footing for the future. The plan includes reducing mission’s staff and personnel by 800 either through attrition, voluntary retirements, or ‘transitioning’ people from roles within the IMB to roles outside of the IMB (aka seeing people go to work for churches, other missions sending agencies, or wherever) over the next several months. In 2009 Southern Baptists had 5,600 missionaries and this proposed reduction will lower that number to about 4,200; a loss of 1,400 in six short years. I find this unacceptable in an age when there are 7 billion people on earth, over ½ of which live in unengaged unreached people groups, which means there are less than 2% believers in their people group and there is no effort being made by Christians and or missionaries at this time to engage them with the gospel. But at the same time I think it is equally unacceptable that the IMB has been forced to spend $210 million more than it has received since 2010. With 80% of what the IMB spends being spent on personnel costs, it is obvious that personnel costs must be part of the solution. Trust me when I say that it is not because our missionaries are getting paid exorbitant salaries and getting rich that these costs are high; our missionaries sacrifice much to stay on the field. But the IMB does a great job providing for the insurance and retirement needs of our missionaries as well as housing, transportation, and so many other things while they serve on the field; things that other missions agencies either don’t provide or the missionary must constantly be coming home to help raise part of their support for.

In my mind there are three things that must happen for Southern Baptists to be as effective as possible in getting the gospel to all peoples.

1.       Stewardship – I think what is happening with the IMB is reflected on a much smaller scale in the local church. I truly believe that God has supplied Southern Baptists with more than enough resources to take care of not just the missions’ personnel we currently have but to greatly increase that number. The problem is that money is still in the pockets of the average Baptist and in the checkbook of the average church. Having been a pastor for 25 years spread over 4 churches of various sizes, I have come to understand the percentage that is given to their local church by the average Baptist sitting in the pews on Sundays; let’s just say it is far less than what I think honors God. In so many of our churches 15-20% of the people are carrying 80% of the financial costs while 80-85% of the people either ‘tip’ God or completely ‘free load’ on God’s church and God’s people. Our sacrifice in giving and going should be nothing less than the sacrifice the Lord was willing to make for us. If I understand Galatians 2:20 correctly, I died in 1978 when I gave my heart to Christ. It is now no longer about what Tom James wants but what Christ wants to do as He lives His life in and through Tom James. As Christ lives through us I am pretty positive that He would give more than 1% to His church and would certainly not ‘free load’ on the people of God; enjoying the pleasures and blessings of the local church all while doing nothing to support the work going on there. But the problem does not just rest in the lap of God’s people; a good part of the problem is found in the lap of God’s pastors and pulpits. Recently as KBC President I had opportunity to hear what many of our KBC churches give to the Co-Operative Program; I was dismayed. For a church to have a $300,000 budget and give 1% to missions or a multi-million dollar budget and give not a dime to missions is completely unacceptable. God’s man must do a better job of leading God’s people to see the need of making sure the gospel gets to the ends of the earth. I think if pastors did a better job of teaching, preaching, and promoting missions in the local church we would not even be having this discussion today. As a pastor has I think part of the solution to this dilemma is stewardship. 

2.       New paradigm of missionaries – As pastors I think we must call our people to a more radical obedience. Southern Baptists numbers of missionaries could explode in just a few years if we led our people to think outside the box while understanding their responsibility to ‘Go’ with the gospel. So many of our church members serve in careers where they could easily find a job overseas be it as an educator, banker, businessman, musician, etc...; the types of jobs available overseas is almost endless. If we would begin to dream of a businessman or teacher going overseas to serve in the field drawing their financial support from the ‘secular’ work they do while not depending upon a mission board to take care of much of the financial cost of their living overseas, if they did this with the ultimate goal of living among people who need Christ, almost every country in the world could come into play as a possible landing spot for a Southern Baptist who saw their role as being one of taking the gospel to the peoples of the world. We must learn a new paradigm while convincing our people that being a missionary is not for the ‘professionals’ only; that God has called us all to be missionaries and witnesses (Acts 1:8). The question is not whether we will be a witness or not, that was decided when we came to Christ; the question has now become what kind of witness will we be. 

3.       Personal Involvement – I can testify that our churches missions giving went up exponentially when we began to engage more of our people in actual missions. Eastwood currently has 8 mission’s partnerships going on 5 continents. For a church our size this stretches us thin. But with increasing the number of people going on an annual basis by 1,500% over the past ten years it seems logical that our giving would go down as people are using their available mission’s dollars to go themselves. But just the opposite has happened. Our giving has increased from $14,000 ten years ago to $80,000+ this past church year. This on top of increasing C/P giving by 3% over that time to 12.25% now. I recite these numbers not to ‘brag’ but simply to say that our God is not ‘logical’ in the sense of how we think He will work. Rather He chooses to bless those who are obedient to pray, to give, and to go.

Pray for the 800 missionaries, families, and staff that will either accept an early retirement offer or be downsized over the next several months. Pray for our IMB leadership to have wisdom as decisions are made. But I’d ask you to pray especially hard for the 16 million Americans who say they are Southern Baptist, that God would grip their hearts to where their commitment to Him, His causes, His Church, and the gospel greatly increases.