Whipping Post

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I been tied to the whipping post,
Tied to the whipping post,
Tied to the whipping post,
Good lord, I feel like I’m dyin’.
Greg Allman

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
James 1:5-7

Is it wrong to doubt? Is it wrong to question? What leads believers to doubt the providence of God, to doubt the goodness of God, to even doubt his existence? Is it our sinful hearts lashing out against the Spirit that is working within us to transform us into the image of Christ? Is it our emotions and feelings pleading for validation? Christ often encountered doubt. He often encountered people seeking a miracle. Even after performing miracles, people still left him and doubted his authority. How much more so, in the western church, do we doubt when we have never seen Christ and few of us have witnessed a miracle the magnitude of those performed by Christ and the apostles? How much more do we doubt because we don't get what we want?

But is it wrong to doubt? When we base our faith and our spiritual growth on our feelings, then doubt can be dangerous. Our feelings are like the waves in the ocean. James says that person is driven by the wind. The ebbs and flows of the christian life can lead to inconsistencies and strongholds that keep the believer from living the life that God called them to live. However, for the believer whose faith is grounded, not on emotions, but in the fact that Christ died for their sin and has purchased them with his own blood, doubt can be a tool that God uses to mature their faith. When the storms of life come, their faith is built on the undeniable truth of the supremacy of Christ, which will use moments of doubt to only strengthen their resolve.

When life ties me to the whipping post and beats me down, I admit that it can be hard to trust Christ. I think to myself, "Is it really worth it? What if all this is some big joke?" Those thoughts are quickly vanquished when I look at the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Jew of such high esteem that he may have been in line to become the Chief Priest in Jerusalem. He was a prominent Roman citizen. His influence was key in the persecution of the early church. By all accounts, he was a young man that had the whole world in his hand. But all that was gone in the blink of an eye on the road to Damascus. He gave up everything for the sake of Christ. He suffered mightily for it. Paul says of his struggles,
I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 1

What would posses a man that had it all to give up everything? What would posses a man to give up his prosperous life to endure starvation and nakedness. Secular history attests to Paul's testimony. Logically, from the world's point of view, Paul gained nothing by converting. He lost everything. But we know that he considered all his previous accomplishments rubbish for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus. And in fact, by losing his life, he gained everything. Two thousand years later, his life and his words are bearing such immeasurable fruit. This is such a powerful testimony, that when I think of Paul's life, I am immediately humbled and brought back to the cross. This is when my doubt is made submissive to the cross of Christ. This is when my doubt works for me, instead of against me.

I encourage anybody that reads that suffers with the occasional doubts to rest in God's grace. He is indeed big enough to handle your doubt, and if you let him, He will use it to make you more than a conqueror.

I am praying for you.


1. 2 Corinthians 11:26-28