Wrestling with God? Why Your Faith Needs Doubts
I remember my deep-thinking little boy and his angst with tough decisions. From spending his precious quarters at the dollar store to jumping off a diving board, it took lots of consideration. Lots of deciding and undeciding. Lots of weighing the facts.
I remember…because he’s a lot like his mama.
Sometimes refining our faith feels like this kind of wavering, too.
Other times, it feels more like wrestling.
And we’ve both done plenty of that.
THE WRESTLING BOND
My son (and his sisters) wrestled in literal, real-time with their dad every night growing up. In most matches, something would break (hearts or lamps or skin). I cringed at the rough-housing, and the sound of conflict. But over the years, they all came away with a blessing—a bond between parent and child that I didn’t see coming.
Just like Jacob did with his wrestling in Scripture. Though he walked away with a wound, Jacob also got a blessing. And that blessing was a closer relationship to the Father.
I’ve done my own share of wrestling with God since my diagnosis. I’ve wavered and questioned, doubted and tested. Like my husband’s long-term relationship with our now states-away adult children, wrestling prepared my faith for the many years ahead of me with chronic illness. A faith that needed to be challenged and refined to survive late life disappointments.
Wrestling prepared my faith for the many years ahead of me with chronic illness. A faith that needed to be challenged and refined to survive late life disappointments.
Lori Ann Wood
PROTECTING YOUR FAITH
The way Timothy Keller explained it, my lifelong faith needed to be inoculated to stay strong:
A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it.
Timothy Keller
If we go through life without any antibodies, without wrestling with hard questions about why we believe, we will find ourselves defenseless against a tragedy or some other detour. Only if we struggle long and hard with uncertainties in our faith will we be able to provide the grounds for our belief.
And, more importantly, I’ve found it’s an unexpected way to get close to the Father, too.
I was honored to share an article about this on Joyful Journey, “Blessed in Battle: Finding Strength Through Wrestling with God.” Click here to read more.
Like you, I have certainly wrestled for my 88 years with our Great merciful God.
Your faith WILL carry you through your journey. You are blessing many through your wisdom & strength despite your own pain. Keep on wrestling!
What a testimony to me today, that you have wrestled for 88 years and your faith has come out stronger! Thank you for sharing this, Jo-Anne. You are a treasure, and I know someone else needs to hear your story today. I know I sure did.