Blown and Tossed by the Wind

James 1:5-6 'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.'

James says that when we ask God for wisdom, but doubt Him while we're asking, we're like the waves of the sea - unstable and unsure. I think this is actually a really great image for how doubt can feel! Being unsure isn't a nice feeling; having doubts weighs on me and makes me feel isolated and alone. I'll be talking about this in more depth on Sunday but I think every Christian has doubts - they can be big "is this even real?" doubts or small "I don't think You're going to give me a parking space" doubts, but I think we all have them. The important thing, I think, is what we do when we have doubts. Do you read and research? Do you talk them through with someone you trust? Do you pray? I'm a librarian, I love being armed with knowledge, so I read and research, and it's been a long (and still on-going!) journey for me to put my doubts into prayers. I want to be more like the dad in Mark 9 who asks Jesus to help his son if he can and, when Jesus tells him that all things are possible for those who believe, he says in verse 24 "help my unbelief!"

God can withstand our doubts. He "gives generously to all without finding fault," we just have to ask Him to be with us, to help us with our doubts. I think doubts and questions are natural but I've learnt to hold onto the knowledge that God is at the end of my questions. When I'm in that time of being blown and tossed by the wind, God is the anchor for my soul, firm and secure (Hebrews 6:19).

This reflection introduces Megan’s talk on 18th April about Faith in Doubt. You can watch it here.