And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
This passage from scripture is a very important one that is often overlooked and not paid the attention that it is due. Here we basically see that even if it is only for a millisecond, Jesus is doubting God. Now he quickly brushes it off, but the fact is that he did. This is good news us and for anyone who has experienced doubt in God in some of their most trying times, it means that we can be and will be forgiven that doubt.
We see that Jesus brushes this very brief doubt off in the Gospel of Luke: Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I command my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:46
These passages in scripture also shows that no matter how trusting and believing we are in God, no matter how committed we are to our heavenly father, there will always be that one minute where doubt creeps in. The important thing is not to, not have doubts, but once they show up to brush them off. To not let doubt sink in and find a home in our hearts.
Look at the situration that Jesus is in when he does cry out to God in doubt, he does it while he is on the cross not long before he finally dies. With all the pain and suffering that he was enduring, (for us) the fact that all he did was one little cry out when it is highly doubtful that you or me or anyone else can endure what Jesus did without acting out more is itself telling.
As Jesus shows us, doubt will at some point come to everyone. To doubt while not good is ok as long as we do not keep that doubt. In fact in some ways a little doubt may perhaps be a good thing in the long run when it comes to our relationship with God, for it teaches us. We learn form that experience of doubt and once we overcome that doubt we and are faith become stronger because of it.
Even when Thomas doubted at first Jesus’s resurrection, Jesus does indeed adomdish him, but Thomas is forgiven as soon as he does believe (John 20:24-29). As John tells us after Thomas overcomes his doubt (with a little telling to from Jesus) his faith in Jesus became stronger, “My Lord and my God” John 20:28. Doubt when it does not hold you down, but teaches you and you learn from it can become a good thing. Now it is still better to avoid having doubt in the first place, but as is so prevalvent throughout holy scripture, it is possible to turn a negative into a positive.
My heavenly father, and Lord Jesus Christ, help me to not doubt you and to always follow you and walk in your ways. Help me to make my path straight. But when I do stray and or have doubts as is bound to happen, help me to quickly brush those doubts off as you have done and to learn form those doubts and to actually increase my faith in you. Amen!
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