From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God. Self cannot satisfy self. We must hunger for God.
This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God. Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.
We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” —C.S. Lewis
Day 5: Fasting Skepticism
Having questions about faith and our relationship with God is natural; believers are learning to walk in the ways of our Lord. We are going to have questions that need answers, so faith and love lead the way. Doubt is not being certain about something—a lack of knowledge so we ask questions—often with an emotional element involved. Skepticism is doubt but with a slightly belligerent attitude—unwillingness to believe—it demands proof backed up by much evidence.
In the Jewish culture, it is respectful to ask questions about faith; they believe God’s testimony [Word] is strong enough to be tried and tested. When we are talking about God, our questions can be as sacred as the answers. So ask your questions, God can and desires to bring revelation to you. Ask, seek, and knock and the door of understanding will be open (Mat 7:7-8).
Biblical faith requires muscles and we gain them through trials and testing. Sometimes when the Word of God hits our souls, we may need deeper understanding of how to apply it. Now, when we go through dark times of testing, we can definitely find ourselves questioning faith and how it is working in our lives. Faith is messy and sometimes at first glance it can seem confusing. Faith is acting like we believe the Word of God is Truth, so for our answers we need more of Jesus.
Today, we are going to fast skepticism, because our faith may just need more information to believe. Let’s acknowledge our faith is less than perfect. It’s ok. I am always reminded about the father who came to Jesus with his demon-possessed son looking for the healing the disciples could not bring him (Mark 9:18-22). Jesus replied to the man, “Anything is possible if a person believes” to which the man responds, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 23:23-24).
John 12:37-43 NLT The Unbelief of the People
37 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. 38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:
“Lord, who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”
39 But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,
40
“The Lord has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts—
so that their eyes cannot see,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and have me heal them.”
41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. 42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for helping us, today, with our questions about faith and how you want us to live. We need clarity much of the time and because your holy Word is so deep and life changing it can overwhelm our present level of faith. Thank you for always being willing to help our unbelief; to listen to our sincere questions and requests for guidance. We love you, Jesus, and we need the Truth. We choose to fast skepticism. Continue to speak Truth to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.