As a child, I never understood what the phrase "benefit of the doubt" meant. For years I was puzzled as to what it could mean, and for some reason or another, the answers I received did not suffice. Not until I reflected that I was actually doing it--giving people the "benefit of the doubt"--did I come to understand its meaning. It's not a complex term; it just took me a while to see how doubt could be beneficial. But it can be. And I've noticed that recently, I have been using that phrase very often.
I give my teachers the benefit of the doubt when I receive back papers into which I've put long hours and on which they put a letter grade but no comments--perhaps they're too busy to take the time to address my papers' strengths and weaknesses.
I give my friends the benefit of the doubt when they don't respond to a phonecall or text message--perhaps my call or message to them didn't go through.
I give my classmates the benefit of the doubt when the don't show up for meetings--perhaps they're just running late.
You see, giving people the benefit of the doubt is a rather gracious act. It means, in all the cases above, not assuming the negative. It means making allowances for the shortcomings of others. It means acknowledging that I may not see the full picture.
And sometimes I do this with God.
I give God the benefit of the doubt when I see that His calling on my life as a missionary is about to be realized and yet still feel under-prepared--perhaps I'm misreading my life's events and God didn't really mean for me to step into anything new right now.
I give God the benefit of the doubt when I have a multi-thousand dollar budget to be raised in eight months--perhaps it won't come to pass because God wants to impress upon me the value of planning ahead.
I give God the benefit of the doubt when I sense little direction in how to minister to, educate, and serve those with whom I will live overseas--perhaps I'm not hearing anything because God just wants to teach me more than them.
Of course, the benefits of the doubt I give to God can have a positive side, too--perhaps He has in mind some kind of learning experience that will result from all these lofty plans. Perhaps He'll come in and fill in here and there where I'm lacking. And it goes on: perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...
And that's the problem with giving God the benefit of the doubt: doubt is involved. All the "perhaps" statements are indicators of doubt. We muse that perhaps God really didn't mean for this to happen; maybe I'm misinterpreting His words. Perhaps God doesn't mean for all this to come together; maybe He just wants to teach me a lesson about what is possible and what is not. It would be a good lesson, mind you, and would teach me something about the character of God...
We cushion ourselves from the blows of failure, defeat, and deflated dreams by giving God the benefit of the doubt. But the caveat to the phrase that puzzled my childhood is this: It only works on people. Not on God.
When God gives us a dream, makes us a promise, or shows us a glimpse of our future, rarely do we accept it without question and believe unwaveringly that it will come to pass. The frailty in our humanity cries out for constant proof, and when we don't find it right away, we shrink back. Who are we to set such goals, craft such plans, or hold such hopes? But we know that God is God, and we don't want to tell Him, "I don't believe what you've said to me." The feeling remains, however, so we cover this phrase in more socially acceptable statements such as, "Well, I think I feel led to..." or "I thought God spoke to me once..." or "I mean, if God wants it to happen, then it will, but..."
And all of these statements, gracious as they seem, seemingly allowing God the freedom to work and move and change His plans, stem from a heart that struggles with unbelief. While we're helping our friends by giving them the benefit of the doubt, we're hurting God by doing it.
I believe God longs for more people to be like the man in Mark 9:14-32.
The son of the man in this passage was regularly seized by an evil spirit. The man brought his son to Jesus, who by this time had garnered a reputation for performing miracles. Wanting his son to be delivered yet discouraged by the disciples' inability to heal his demon-possessed son, the man addressed Jesus: "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." The man would not have brought his afflicted son to the Son of the living God if he did not believe that Jesus could work a miracle. He had hope--some hope. He had faith--some faith. But he recognized that not all the people who crowded around Jesus walked away healed. He knew Jesus made a difference in some people's realities--but maybe He wouldn't make one in his.
"'"If you can"?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes.'
"Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:23-24).
Jesus didn't despise this man for his avowed lack of faith. Neither does He despise us for ours. That very hour, Jesus freed the man's son from demon possession. And our lack of faith, our doubt, does not necessarily prevent God from working in our lives. He knows that we are but flesh and is not "a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses" (Hebrews 4:15). When we are convicted that we are infusing doubt into the words God has spoken, softening their impact just in case they don't pan out, let us exclaim immediately, as did the boy's father, "I have doubt! Help me overcome it!" Such is a prayer that God never refuses, "for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14). God is near to and moves on behalf of honest hearts.
It's okay to grapple with the words God speaks over your life. But let your doubt turn into faith. It won't morph by itself, though; rather, it changes by making a deliberate decision to believe that what God has said to you will come to pass. This won't happen on its own. James 1:6-8 says that "when [we] ask [for wisdom], [we] must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." So although we are not necessarily preventing God from translating His words into our reality, we are undermining the entire process by our misplaced cautiousness. We ask God for wisdom, we ask God for answers, and we ask God to reveal Himself in our world. And when the words leave our mouth--or even before they do so--our minds are running amok with what ifs regarding what we've asked of Him. And when God shows up and proclaims His will in our lives, we still doubt why He's here and what He means by His coming. We're just trying to be reasonable, we say. But we're reasoning the faith out of our lives in particular situations, dwindling its effectiveness down to far less than what it could be.
And yet even our doubt-saturated outlooks are not entirely bleak; yes, left to themselves the doubtful thoughts will move us nowhere, but when brought to God, the what ifs and the perhaps lose their power. James says that God "gives generously to all" when we ask of Him. Proverbs 30:5 says that "[e]very word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." We have these and many other words of truth to confirm His promises to us and His plans for our lives. God, who knows us completely and "is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:20), invites us to bring every doubt to Him, and He invites us to stay to watch Him extinguish it by the power of His Word and the reputation of His faithfulness.
That said, let us resolve to be like Mary, mother of Jesus, who took the words of God over her life to heart; not because it was easy but because it was necessary. "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Luke 1:45). Mary demonstrated a trust in God's character that superseded her doubts.
So my life calling? My budget? The people in my future? Oh, I may waver with doubt on occasion regarding them, but not for long. And not often. Because I have exclaimed that I want Jesus to help me overcome my unbelief, even if it's just a tiny fleck of doubt, He has answered. And because of that, I've stopped giving Him the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't need it.
"All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection" (2 Samuel 22:31).
I give my teachers the benefit of the doubt when I receive back papers into which I've put long hours and on which they put a letter grade but no comments--perhaps they're too busy to take the time to address my papers' strengths and weaknesses.
I give my friends the benefit of the doubt when they don't respond to a phonecall or text message--perhaps my call or message to them didn't go through.
I give my classmates the benefit of the doubt when the don't show up for meetings--perhaps they're just running late.
You see, giving people the benefit of the doubt is a rather gracious act. It means, in all the cases above, not assuming the negative. It means making allowances for the shortcomings of others. It means acknowledging that I may not see the full picture.
And sometimes I do this with God.
I give God the benefit of the doubt when I see that His calling on my life as a missionary is about to be realized and yet still feel under-prepared--perhaps I'm misreading my life's events and God didn't really mean for me to step into anything new right now.
I give God the benefit of the doubt when I have a multi-thousand dollar budget to be raised in eight months--perhaps it won't come to pass because God wants to impress upon me the value of planning ahead.
I give God the benefit of the doubt when I sense little direction in how to minister to, educate, and serve those with whom I will live overseas--perhaps I'm not hearing anything because God just wants to teach me more than them.
Of course, the benefits of the doubt I give to God can have a positive side, too--perhaps He has in mind some kind of learning experience that will result from all these lofty plans. Perhaps He'll come in and fill in here and there where I'm lacking. And it goes on: perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...
And that's the problem with giving God the benefit of the doubt: doubt is involved. All the "perhaps" statements are indicators of doubt. We muse that perhaps God really didn't mean for this to happen; maybe I'm misinterpreting His words. Perhaps God doesn't mean for all this to come together; maybe He just wants to teach me a lesson about what is possible and what is not. It would be a good lesson, mind you, and would teach me something about the character of God...
We cushion ourselves from the blows of failure, defeat, and deflated dreams by giving God the benefit of the doubt. But the caveat to the phrase that puzzled my childhood is this: It only works on people. Not on God.
When God gives us a dream, makes us a promise, or shows us a glimpse of our future, rarely do we accept it without question and believe unwaveringly that it will come to pass. The frailty in our humanity cries out for constant proof, and when we don't find it right away, we shrink back. Who are we to set such goals, craft such plans, or hold such hopes? But we know that God is God, and we don't want to tell Him, "I don't believe what you've said to me." The feeling remains, however, so we cover this phrase in more socially acceptable statements such as, "Well, I think I feel led to..." or "I thought God spoke to me once..." or "I mean, if God wants it to happen, then it will, but..."
And all of these statements, gracious as they seem, seemingly allowing God the freedom to work and move and change His plans, stem from a heart that struggles with unbelief. While we're helping our friends by giving them the benefit of the doubt, we're hurting God by doing it.
I believe God longs for more people to be like the man in Mark 9:14-32.
The son of the man in this passage was regularly seized by an evil spirit. The man brought his son to Jesus, who by this time had garnered a reputation for performing miracles. Wanting his son to be delivered yet discouraged by the disciples' inability to heal his demon-possessed son, the man addressed Jesus: "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." The man would not have brought his afflicted son to the Son of the living God if he did not believe that Jesus could work a miracle. He had hope--some hope. He had faith--some faith. But he recognized that not all the people who crowded around Jesus walked away healed. He knew Jesus made a difference in some people's realities--but maybe He wouldn't make one in his.
"'"If you can"?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes.'
"Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:23-24).
Jesus didn't despise this man for his avowed lack of faith. Neither does He despise us for ours. That very hour, Jesus freed the man's son from demon possession. And our lack of faith, our doubt, does not necessarily prevent God from working in our lives. He knows that we are but flesh and is not "a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses" (Hebrews 4:15). When we are convicted that we are infusing doubt into the words God has spoken, softening their impact just in case they don't pan out, let us exclaim immediately, as did the boy's father, "I have doubt! Help me overcome it!" Such is a prayer that God never refuses, "for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14). God is near to and moves on behalf of honest hearts.
It's okay to grapple with the words God speaks over your life. But let your doubt turn into faith. It won't morph by itself, though; rather, it changes by making a deliberate decision to believe that what God has said to you will come to pass. This won't happen on its own. James 1:6-8 says that "when [we] ask [for wisdom], [we] must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." So although we are not necessarily preventing God from translating His words into our reality, we are undermining the entire process by our misplaced cautiousness. We ask God for wisdom, we ask God for answers, and we ask God to reveal Himself in our world. And when the words leave our mouth--or even before they do so--our minds are running amok with what ifs regarding what we've asked of Him. And when God shows up and proclaims His will in our lives, we still doubt why He's here and what He means by His coming. We're just trying to be reasonable, we say. But we're reasoning the faith out of our lives in particular situations, dwindling its effectiveness down to far less than what it could be.
And yet even our doubt-saturated outlooks are not entirely bleak; yes, left to themselves the doubtful thoughts will move us nowhere, but when brought to God, the what ifs and the perhaps lose their power. James says that God "gives generously to all" when we ask of Him. Proverbs 30:5 says that "[e]very word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." We have these and many other words of truth to confirm His promises to us and His plans for our lives. God, who knows us completely and "is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:20), invites us to bring every doubt to Him, and He invites us to stay to watch Him extinguish it by the power of His Word and the reputation of His faithfulness.
That said, let us resolve to be like Mary, mother of Jesus, who took the words of God over her life to heart; not because it was easy but because it was necessary. "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Luke 1:45). Mary demonstrated a trust in God's character that superseded her doubts.
So my life calling? My budget? The people in my future? Oh, I may waver with doubt on occasion regarding them, but not for long. And not often. Because I have exclaimed that I want Jesus to help me overcome my unbelief, even if it's just a tiny fleck of doubt, He has answered. And because of that, I've stopped giving Him the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't need it.
"All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection" (2 Samuel 22:31).
Excellent truth Renee."Lord, help me not to doubt You! Give me Your discernment & wisdom in all situations. I will hold on to your promises!"
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