AGONY OF A SHATTERED FAITH


Faith is a thread tender and frail, easy to tear,
Yet it can lift the weight of a soul up from despair

In the opinion of Dr. R. T. Kendall, senior minister
of Westminister Chapel in London, 100 percent of
believers eventually go through a period when God
seems to let them down.  This leads directly to what
he calls “the betrayal barrier.”  It may occur shortly
after becoming a Christian.  The new convert loses his
job, or his child becomes ill, or business reverses
come about.  Or maybe after serving Him faithfully for
many years, life suddenly begins to come apart.  It
makes no sense.  Life seems so unfair.  Dr. Dobson
calls it “the agony of a shattered faith.”


Moses had a good reason to feel God had abandoned him.
He said, “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon
this people?  Is this why you sent me?  Ever since I
went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought
trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued
your people at all” (Exodus 5:22-23).  Like Moses, do
we sometimes feel we are the victim of a cruel joke?
Do we bail out before the pieces start fitting
together?  Dr. Kendall said more than 90 percent of us
fail to break through this betrayal barrier after
feeling abandoned by God.

Dr. Dobson of Focus on the Family writes, “I’ve spent
a lifetime attempting to get a handle on the
imponderables of life, which has led to the writing of
this book.  But we are specifically told not to lean
on our abilities to make the pieces fit.  “Leaning”
refers to the panicky demand for answers—throwing
faith to the wind if a satisfactory response cannot be
produced.  It is pressing God to explain Himself—or
else! That is where everything starts to unravel.”

So where did we get the “name it, claim it” theology.
It leads us to believe that God will skip along ahead
of us with His great Cosmic Broom sweeping aside each
trial and every troubling uncertainty.  Jesus told His
disciples that they should anticipate suffering.  He
said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you
may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart, I have overcome the world” (John
16:33). 

Peter left no doubt about difficulties in this
Christian life when he wrote, “Dear Friends, do not be
surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as
though something strange were happening to you.  But
rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of
Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is
revealed” (I Peter 4: 12-13).  Note in each of these
references the coexistence of both joy and pain.

As I was writing these lines, two native women in
their early twenties came to the Casa Grande to see me
for counseling.  One lovely pastor’s wife was
heart-broken—her world had fallen apart.  Her face was
drenched with tears.  They spoke only Portuguese, so I
had to learn their story piece by piece.  Love had
failed in a marriage, and faith was shattered.  We
prayed with them and encouraged them, giving them a
few dollars in pesos to ease the stress of life.  How
can they feel secure when surrounded with
insecurities?

I will close this message with William Bathhurst hymn:
Oh, For a Faith…

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink, tho’ pressed by
every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink of any earthly woe.

That will not murmur nor complain beneath the
chastening rod
But, in the hour of grief or pain will lean upon its God.


A faith that shines more bright and clear when
tempests rage without,
That when in danger knows no fear, in darkness feels no
doubt,

by Erwin Bourne