“[Doubts and questions] don’t seem like that big of a deal one by one — just like you would never look at an ant and think it could possibly take down a huge oak tree. Please hear me: it’s not wrong to have these thoughts, but it is dangerous to get consumed by them. To get hollowed out by them. To get even more vulnerable to the storms around us because of thoughts that erode our only true stability.”- Lysa TerKeurst
“Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.”- Luke 8:13 (NIV)
As Lysa TerKeurst moves on in Chapter 6 of I Want to Trust You, but I Don’t, she talks about a huge, uprooted oak tree she once saw after some bad weather. The stately tree appeared grounded and stable. But due to a sprinkler system in the yard, the tree roots didn’t need to go deep in the ground. Because a readily available water supply feed it.
In addition, ants targeted the injured tree. They ate away the softer wood and eventually damaged the sound wood. As a result, the hollowed-out tree lost structural strength.
Therefore, when doubts erode our stability, we face two choices. Either doubt causes us to press into God or to pull away from Him.
So, when we lack the belief that God’s coming through for us today, we find it hard to trust that surrendering out future to Him is a safe thing to do. As a result, we hesitate to fully surrender our efforts to fix things and instead cling to His promises. Hence, we hold on to our fears and doubts. And in case God fails to come through, we build safety nets.
Furthermore, we struggle feeling confident and assured that God will come through for us this side of eternity. As theologian F. F. Bruce once explained:
“Physical eyesight produces a conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the organ that enables people to see the invisible order.”
Today’s question: When do you most feel hollowed out by doubts? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Gap between sight and faith”