Billy Graham said in his autobiography, Just As I Am, that the greatest turning point in his ministry came at an intellectual crossroads. At the beginning of his ministry, Graham experienced a deep pit of doubt concerning the reliability of the Bible and theological issues, which were mostly being raised by skeptics who were trying to discourage Billy.
Finally one night, young Billy he walked out into the woods and set his Bible on a stump and he cried out: “O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions others are raising.”
Then Billy recalled that the Holy Spirit moved in him as he said, “Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word!” Billy stood up and his “eyes stung with tears” but he felt the power and presence of God in a way he hadn’t in months. Later he recounted that “a major bridge had been crossed.”[1]
Of course, many of us remember how Billy Graham arose from that “dark night of the soul” to be a mighty man of God who changed the world. When God called Gideon to be the deliverer of Israel in the Judges 6, he was not exactly world-changing material. Gideon questioned why God chose him and even demanded a sign from the Lord to reassure his doubting heart.
In response, God asked Gideon to trust Him with something precious – a sacrifice of food (which was quite a request since the Midianites had just plundered Israel’s food supplies).
That’s still how God develops our faith and delivers us from doubt—He ask us to lay on the altar of sacrifice the thing we’d rather keep in our own possession. Think of it like this—you cannot develop faith, unless there’s also the possibility of doubt. If God removed all doubt from the process, then there would be no room for faith. If you want to grow in faith, then eventually you have doubt your doubts and say, “God I trust you.”
Friends, some of you are like Gideon today. You’ve heard God’s calling. But you are doubtful of yourself and if God will provide. Gideon didn’t get the confirmation that he was looking for until he took a small step of obedience. God still works the same way. If you are waiting on God to give you all you need and answer all your questions before you obey, you’ll never get there. Faith is taking a step towards God, believing that He will come the rest of the way and meet you.
-DM
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