“Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” (John 11:21 nlt)
One of the most pervasive headwinds that believers face in daily life is doubt. Our faith seems strong until certain situations or circumstances arise that make us question or rethink certain aspects of it. If Scripture shows us anything, it’s that such doubts are not unusual among God’s people.
As we saw in a devotion last week, Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, was not one to hold her tongue. People always knew where they stood with her. According to John 11:21, after Lazarus died, “Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died’” (nlt). To put it another way: “Where were You anyway, Jesus?”
Maybe you’ve said something similar during or after some crisis in your life. “Lord, where were You when my parents divorced? Lord, where were You when we got that diagnosis of cancer? Lord, where were You when our marriage fell apart? Lord, where were You when I lost my job? Lord, where were You when my child got into trouble? Lord, where were You when my loved one died?”
Please notice that Jesus didn’t reprove Martha for what she said. It isn’t wrong to tell the Lord exactly how you feel. I think we sometimes get the idea that it’s irreverent or sinful to express our real fears or the doubts of our heart, evento God. But when we read the book of Psalms, we learn that there were many times when David and the other psalmists really “let their hair down” with God. They cried out to Him and emptied the contents of their hearts in His presence.
I’ve done it many times. In my pain, I’ll cry out to God. Sometimes the reality that my son is gone hits my heart like a sledgehammer, and I say, “Oh, God. I can’t believe this! I can’t handle this pain!” But then I’ll preach to myself and say, “Now, Greg, listen to me. Your son is alive—more alive than he ever was before. He’s in the presence of the Lord, and you are going to see him again.” And I’ll remind myself of the promises of God.
My prayers, however, are wide open and honest. I pour out my heart before God, describing my pain to Him. I put my doubts into words. I talk to Him about the things I don’t understand—the circumstances that don’t make sense, the situations, losses, and diagnoses that don’t seem fair. But I also remind myself of God’s truth. And that’s what prayer is.
God wants us to cry out to Him. He invites us to pour out our hearts before Him. David writes, “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8 niv). That’s an invitation you want to accept.
Reflection question: What do you do when you struggle with doubt?
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Greg Laurie is the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and of Harvest Crusades. He is an evangelist, best-selling author, and movie producer. His latest film ‘Jesus Revolution,’ from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, is now available on-demand worldwide.
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