When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3).
I recently attended a webinar where the speaker offered the attendees a special promotion: Rate his podcast and receive a free hoodie.
I was already a listener and enjoyed the show, so I thought, Why not? Besides, a free hoodie? I couldn’t pass that up. I left the rating, emailed the speaker, and waited. And . . . waited. Weeks went by and, still, nothing. No tracking number, no confirmation email, not even a reply.
As you might imagine, I began to have serious doubts that I would receive my promised free hoodie.
The sad reality is that when something sounds too good to be true, it often is. Especially when the promise contradicts what we actually experience. Doubt is often our first instinct to protect ourselves from heartbreak, disappointment, and scams.
On a more serious note, doubt can often creep into our faith lives as well:
“God, you promise that you love me . . . but I’m experiencing heartbreak and loss. I don’t feel very loved right now.”
“God, you promise that you’re here with me . . . but I’m facing some real hardships in life, and I feel so very alone.”
Or, perhaps, one step further:
“God, you promise that my sins are forgiven and a home is waiting for me in heaven . . . but I’m doubting whether that’s really true—whether what you promise is really true.”
If you’ve ever had similar doubts, you’re not alone. Nor are you the first believer to think such things.
Whether for himself or his disciples, John the Baptist—Jesus’ cousin and forerunner who had already proclaimed that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world—sent word to Jesus to ask, “Are you really the Messiah, or should we expect someone else?”
Why? Because John was in prison for speaking out against sin. As John sat in that dark prison cell and his followers saw what had become of him, the temptation to doubt was likely very great. Reality didn’t seem to match the promised expectation. Was Jesus the Messiah, or had they put their hope in the wrong place?
How did Jesus address those questions—and ours?
He pointed to what he was already doing, just as Isaiah prophesied the Messiah would do: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matthew 11:5).
Similarly, in his Word, God directs our attention to what Jesus would do on the cross, where our sins were nailed and where our Savior suffered
and died for us to win us eternal life . . . just as he promised. God points us to the empty tomb, where we don’t find our Savior because he lives and reigns . . . just as he promised. God points us to his Word, where he reminds us that he will return to take us home to heaven with him . . . just as he promised.
Dear Christian, when we experience doubt, God invites us to go to what he says to us in his Word—the unbreakable promises kept by our loving God. Even when it seems as though the promises are too good to be true and we doubt, God assures us that they are true.
The powerful proof is presented in the person of our Savior Jesus.
As we receive God’s means of grace through Word and sacrament, God the Holy Spirit works to drive out doubt and strengthen faith and hope in our hearts.
I waited for nearly a month until giving up hope that I’d get a free hoodie from a webinar speaker.
Imagine my surprise and joy when I suddenly got an email confirmation that it was on its way. Imagine how much more joy I experienced when I finally received the hoodie. (My wife doesn’t have to imagine any of this; she’s heard me talk about it nonstop for the past several weeks.)
Dear Christian, how great is the joy that is already ours because of what Jesus has done for us. How much even greater joy we’ll experience when we see all of God’s words to us fulfilled . . . just as he promised.
Read through 116 short devotions on the gospels of Matthew and Mark in He Is the Christ, one of the volumes in the NEW People’s Bible Devotions series, and discover how the Holy Spirit used the gospel writers’ words to teach you what it means that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, just as he promised.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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