Have you ever purchased a loaf of bread that didn’t stay fresh for more than a day or two? If so, there’s a good chance it’s because it didn’t have any preservatives in it. It occurs to me that sometimes our faith can be like that too. Our enthusiasm may get a little stale. We may walk for years with strong unwavering faith, then suddenly something happens that causes us to fall into a puddle of doubts or even worse, we just feel dry.

I don’t know about you, but in my walk of faith, I’ve found that doubts can either become a yeast of puffed up vanity, or drive us to God. But through His word, our wandering (and wondering) minds can be cleansed and our faith preserved. Dr. Hugh Ross, once said: “Doubt asks the questions & unbelief won’t hear the answers.” His ministry, Reasons to Believe, is all about answering questions from doubting minds. But doubt isn’t necessarily a bad thing. No, it can be good. Admit it first, then let it drive you to Him for the answers. Clarifying exactly what your question or doubt is, can also be helpful. It might help to write your question down. Just saying we doubt something without being specific is a lazy and dangerous approach to finding the truth. After all, if you can’t articulate your question, then how will you know if you’ve found the answer?  

We all struggle with the deceitful malady of doubts, lies and vanity and our culture continually encourages it. We “eat up” the lies that our world feeds us through social media, movies, television; even friends. We tend to let those voices tell us what is important or true. Using a character in her novel, “the Scarlet Thread,” Francine Rivers states: “people hear what they want to hear.” So true isn’t it? We’ve probably all done that many times over and didn’t even realize it. Recognizing that our culture’s “soul food” is an illegitimate and temporary filling is a good start though. It can’t last because it doesn’t contain the eternal preservative of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible refers to Jesus in many symbolic ways and one that comes to mind in this regard, is that He is our “manna (or bread) from heaven.” While our world bombards us with all kinds of ways to satisfy our hunger, Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6).

Another wise approach to our inquiring minds is to pray about our doubts. Don’t think you can hide your doubts from God. You’re just fooling yourself. He already knows. The key to asking Him, in an honoring way, is to come with an open heart, truly listen, and then obey.

Remember, if Jesus really is within you, He is the only preservative who can give you eternal life. Jesus also said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever,” (John 6:51)