I am a Star Wars fan. I know it isn’t for everybody, only the really cool people like Star Wars. I will say the originals were the best in my opinion, way better than the second and third generations.
A certain villain in the Star Wars franchise had some of the best lines. In the biggest NO WAY moment of my young movie watching life I learned Luke Skywalker, everyone’s hero, was Darth Vader’s son. What Impossible!!
Say this line with me in your best Darth Vader voice, “Turn to the dark side and join me…Luke I am your father”.
Yeah I know it is over the top but there is a point. You are invited over to the dark side daily. Doubt whispers this to you all the time.
We have been working through our doubts together using the Lord’s Prayer as our model for prayer and a brilliant answer to our doubts. I have said several times you have to deal with your doubt so your doubt doesn’t take you out.
While it is not a cheery topic, your doubt can be dangerous and it invites you over to the dark side in 3 ugly flavors. I know flavors aren’t ugly, but you know what I mean.
Doubt invites you to miss out – This one is mostly a personal cost. When you doubt yourself it causes you to miss out on both good things and God things.
Doubts about your abilities are fine if they come from a healthy view of your strengths and weaknesses, that helps us to live well. I know I will never be a talented musician and if someone asked me to play piano for a crowd I don’t doubt it would be bad, I know it would be bad!
Self-doubt is the dark side. Self- doubt not only tells us we can’t, it gets personal. Telling us we are too big of a mess to have any value. It blurs the line between ability and worth. Self-doubt lies to us. The truth is, we wouldn’t let other people talk to us the way we talk to ourselves when we are filled with the dark side of self-doubt.
As a result we miss out, we miss out on relationships, on trying new things, on having hope…because our self-doubt takes us down a dark road.
Doubt Makes Cynics Into Heroes – Doubting, refusing to believe, knowing better, laughing at all the mindless sheep, mistrusting everyone and everything because they are all liars. The cynic learns to be proud of their cynicism and quick to pronounce judgement even though they insist they are not judgmental. Sounds great doesn’t it?
The dark side of doubt builds cynics brick by brick. The progress is deceptively slow, hard to notice at first. It works likes those few extra pounds you put on, no big deal until one day the pants don’t fit, the scale is lying and your mirror has broken somehow because there is no way you look like that.
Cynics don’t start out as cynics. They get deceived or lied to, later they find out the truth. It hurts to be the victim of a lie and they don’t want to be fooled again. The dark side of doubt says…you better question everyone and everything.
The problem is you will always find whatever you are looking for. If you are always looking for who is lying you will find a liar. If you are always looking for truth you will find the Truth. (Hint: Jesus claimed to the Way, the Life and the Truth.) Are their liars and manipulators out there? Yep. Is there truth out there? Yep. The dark side of doubt says be a cynic and look for the lies.
Doubt Demands You Walk Away – this may be the most damaging of all. The dark side of doubt’s answer to every difficult relationship moment, every frustrating setback, and every confusing spiritual question is to walk away. Don’t engage, protect yourself, run, hide, quit, if it is hard it must not be right….the language and excuses come in a variety of shapes and colors but the endgame is all the same. Walk away.
Dark side doubt doesn’t just encourage you to walk away, it demands it. Twisting up your emotions and thoughts so much so you feel you have no choice. There is no other option. I can’t stay in this relationship, I have to find a different job, I have to leave this church.
Yes relationships end, careers change and life takes you different places for many different reasons. Make sure the reason for the change is not dark side doubt that traps you emotionally and convinces you there are no other options. It is a lie.
These are just a few of the reasons it is so important to deal with your doubts. Having doubts is normal, ignoring them is dangerous.
Our series on Doubting Your Doubts is available on our YouTube channel. You can see the most recent message here…
One of the not so obvious steps you can take to deal with your doubts is caring for other people. When you put your stuff on the back burner to help someone else, it is amazing how your doubts seem to shrink and get answered.
Our Hope CARE team recently sent 40 large boxes of treats, supplies and gifts to local hospitals to express our appreciation. It was great.
What you may not know is our CARE team has also been busy helping those who have struggled to get vaccination appointments. Navigating the reservation system and giving rides to some of our very own church family to get to their shot appointments.
The team has been looking for truth, pouring into other people and stepping in to make a difference. It is like moving into the light. Why am I telling you this? One it is great story and, two it is a great step for you.
When you love your neighbor and invest in other people it is incredible how things change. You walk in instead of walking away, your cynicism melts and you become part of something instead of missing out. Maybe the best way to deal with your doubts is to help someone else.
I am so grateful to be part of a church like this!
People like our CARE team put meaning into the words Mt Ridge is FOR you.
Maybe you are not working through doubts right now (that is great). You may know someone who is. Would you share this and let them know God wants to help them deal with their doubts. Thanks for thinking of them! You can share by clicking the icons below.
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