"Do you ever have problems with doubt?" That was a question put to me by one of the congregation at the Houseparty last weekend. They were having problems, as many often do, with their walk with God, and were wrestling with the problem of doubt. Although they had a long history of seeing God at work in their life in many wonderful ways, they were going through a time where things did not seem to be working out, and they were troubled with doubts.

Contrary to what many people think, honest doubt is never condemned by God. While, throughout the Bible, we are invited to put our faith and trust in God, and faith is at the very heart of our relationship to God, the Bible recognises that faith does not always come easily.

In Mark 9: 17-27 there is a story that I find very encouraging. It tells of a father who has brought his son to Jesus to be healed because the boy is greatly troubled by an evil spirit and suffers seizures similar to an epileptic fit. When the father asks Jesus for help the latter replies "Everything is possible for him who believes." The father in his desperation, exclaims to Jesus "I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief." I see in this man's words a reflection of where so many of us are at; while for many reasons we want to believe, the talons of unbelief still grip our heart and mind.

The wonderful sequel to this story is that Jesus utters no word of condemnation for the man’s ambivalent response. Rather, he simply commands the evil spirit to go and the boy is healed.

The faith that we are called to in the Bible is not "blind faith". It does not require the surrender of our intellect. Faith is NOT what a schoolboy once defined as: "Believing what you know is not true." Faith is not the same as superstition, which is believing something without any rational evidence. Biblical faith is a response to a God who has revealed himself to us, and acted in history.

Biblical faith is a growing thing. As we respond to what we know of God we learn more, and that gives us a firm foundation for greater faith. Biblical faith is an "eyes-open" faith, an experimental faith. For example, in Psalm 34:8 we are invited to "Taste and see that the Lord is good". When, through the prophet Malachi, God challenges his people to demonstrate their faith by paying their tithes, he says "Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven." (Malachi 3:10)

While it is true that, in a number of places, the Bible condemns those who put God to the test, it is the underlying unbelief that is being condemned, not honest searching. In Deuteronomy 4:29 Moses tells God’s people "If you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." Through the prophet Jeremiah, God gives a similar message to his people who have been carried off into exile, and were doubting whether God was still there for them. "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 29:12,13.)

Having doubts is not a problem. In fact, it may well be a blessing! It all depends on what we do with our doubts. If we use them as an excuse to turn away from God, they will be a curse to us, but, if we use our doubts as a spur to seek out the truth they will be a blessing. In my training as a scientist I was taught to question and examine everything in order to find the truth. Jesus said: "Seek and you will find." (Matt 7:7) Happy doubting!