From Doubt to Belief..... readings and reflections for the journey

In preparation for tonight's mid-week Vesper's service, I turned to this week's readings in A Guide to Prayer For All Who Seek God.  The title?  "From Doubt to Belief".

As I glanced over the Scripture selections for the week and read several of the choices (John 10:31-42, Psalm 146, and Mark 12:28-34), though there were encouraging and admonishing words in all, the Mark passage is the one that stood out to me at this time.

Mark 12:28-34 (NRSV)

²⁸ One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰ you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; ³³ and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
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This passage may be the one that stood out to me those verses are ones I desire to live by.  Or, it could be that I need to live more faithfully into these verses.  Or, it could be a "both/and" answer.  Likely, it's the latter.

Doubt is a normal part of belief.  It is normal to have doubts, to ask questions, to seek answers along the journey of belief.  Doubt can come because of many things and reveal itself in many forms, yet the one thing to remember is to not fear it, reject it, or deny it.  It has its place on the journey.  Working through doubt allows one's belief to become more clear.

In the reflection readings for this week, several of the quotes spoke to me.  I will share them.  Maybe there is something for someone else in these words.

Rueben Job writes:

     "We move away from doubt at out own pace and with our own set of doubts and beliefs to master.  While our first step is a matter of belief and ultimate trust in God, there are many other and some even more difficult steps to take in our movement from doubt to belief.
     One step along the journey that causes many people to stop and struggle is the step of actually believing God loves them and that they can be lovable in God's sight.  This more than any other step along the journey makes men and women, young and old, stumble and fall from faith to doubt.  Why is it so hard for us to believe that God's love really is unconditional and that we should imitate God's love not only for others but also for ourselves?
     Perhaps we have regarded self-centered behavior too harshly.  We are unwilling or unable to give ourselves the same gentle grace that God offers us and that we believe should be offered to others.  Leap from doubt to belief and remember that God loves you, delights in you, and yearns for your response of faith in God and in God's creation." (389-390)

Another quote that stood out to me is by Joan Chittister from Illuminated Life:

     "Life, the contemplative knows, is a process.  It is not that all the elements of life, mundane as they may be, do not matter.  On the contrary, to the contemplative everything matters.  Everything speaks of God, and God is both in and beyond everything.
     Having the faith to take life one piece at a time--to live it in the knowledge that there is something of God in this for me now, here, at this moment--is of the essence of happiness.  It is not that God is a black box full of tests and trials and treats.  It is that life is a step on the way to a God who goes the way with us.  However far, however perilous." (391-392)

And lastly, a quote by Tilda Norberg from Ashes Transformed:

     "The more healing I experience, the more I understand one of the most magnificent truths of the Christian faith: God can turn our worst pain into the source of our giftedness.  It is no accident that my life's work involves helping people invite Jesus into the worst moments of their lives." (393)

These are just a sampling of the reflection readings and the Scriptures for the week.  They are the ones that stood out to me at this time.  The others might meet you more where you are on your journey.  You might consider using A Guide to Prayer For All Who Seek God (The Upper Room) in your faith journey.

As you read the reflection readings above, what stands out to you?  What speaks to you?  Where do the words intersect with where you are on your journey?

For me, I am reminded that God is with me, every step of the way.... even when it doesn't "feel like it".  I am reminded that I can experience God in the midst of any situation and that God does turn pain into something that is used for the good of the Kingdom and God's glory.

Here is a Charles Wesley hymn that I ran across in A Guide to Prayer For Ministers and Other Servants (334). 

"Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee"

[Link from hymnary.org]

Father, I stretch my hands to Thee,
No other help I know;
If Thou withdraw Thyself from me,
Ah! Whether shall I go?

On Thy dear Son I now believe
O let me feel Thy power
And all my varied wants relieve
In this accepted hour

Author of faith! to Thee I lift
My weary longing eyes
O let me now receive this gift
My soul without it dies

Surely Thou canst not let me die;
O speak, and I shall live;
And here I will unwearied lie,
Till Thou Thy Spirit give.

How would my fainting soul rejoice
Could I but see Thy face
Now let me hear Thy quickening voice
And taste Thy pardoning grace

I do believe, I now believe
That Jesus died for me.
And that He shed His precious blood
From sin to set me free

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Fellow journeyer, in closing, I leave with you a poem I read in the same week's lesson that I read the Charles Wesley hymn in A Guide to Prayer For Ministers and Other Servants (331-332).  The poem is by Susan Ruach.

"A New Way of Struggling"

To stuggle used to be
To grab with both hands

and shake

and twist

and turn

and push

and shove and not give in

But wrest an answer from it all
As Jacob did a blessing.
But there is another way
To struggle with an issue, a question-
Simply to jump

off

into the abyss

and find ourselves

floating

falling

tumbling

being led

slowly and gently

but surely

to the answers God has for us-

to watch the answers unfold

before our eyes and still

to be a part of the unfolding

But oh! the trust
necessary for this new way!
Not to be always reaching out
For the old hand-holds.

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Blessings on your journey,

Debra