An Element of Faith

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, January 18, 2011

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.
- 2 Corinthians 1:8

A French proverb says, "He that knows nothing doubts nothing." Sometimes doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith. It means we are thinking something through. We are grappling with it. We are trying to process and understand it. And sometimes we have to go through the foyer of doubt to enter into the sanctuary of certainty.

Doubting is not necessarily sinful. Doubt is a matter of the mind, while unbelief is a matter of the will. Doubt says, "I don't get it. Help me understand this. Work with me through this." But unbelief says, "I get it. I don't like it. And I refuse to accept it."

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G. Campbell Morgan put it this way: "Unbelief is an act of the will, while doubt is born out of a troubled mind and a broken heart."

Even great men and women of God have their moments of despair. On one occasion Moses was ready to quit after listening to the Israelites complain for the umpteenth time. He basically said, "Lord, if it is going to keep on being this way, I would prefer that you would just kill me right now."

Elijah pretty much said the same thing after hearing that Queen Jezebel had put a contract out on his life. And even the great apostle Paul was discouraged. He wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 1:8: "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life."

So if you are struggling with doubts, you are not alone. And the important thing to remember during those times is to cry out to God.