Abram’s Doubt
Abram got despondent, and interestingly, Abram in his humanness also struggled with doubt. God made a promise to help Abram, but Abram didn't really want to allow himself to believe it. We read: "He also said to him, 'I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.' But Abram said, 'Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?'" (Genesis 15:7-8)
Even though God has promised him great things, Abram has this self-doubt. He's human. He's not an angel. He has a mind and a way of thinking, and as he tries to work this thing out, he wonders if it could possibly be true.
The Difference Between Doubt and Unbelief
It reminds me of what Henry Drummond said. He said "Christ distinguished between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says, 'I can't believe.' Unbelief says, 'I won't believe.' Doubt is honest. Unbelief is obstinate."
Abram here is not obstinate. He is not being stubborn. He's been honest. He's human after all. In fact Mary said very much the same thing when the angel brought her the news that she would give birth to the Messiah. Remember? She said "how can I know that this is true?"
Abram's doubt here is, I think, rational. It is a wise thing, in fact, to say "how can I know that this is true?" when we hear something from God.
This reminds me of yet another quote, this time from Oswald Chambers again. He writes: "Doubt is not always a sign that a man is wrong; it may be a sign that he is thinking."
The Wisdom of Careful Questioning
What would happen in your life if you just went along with everything instead of questioning and testing it? It would be quite unwise to just assume that every thought, every prompting, every idea you have is from God.
Abram doubts here, because he's a human. He needs to work things out. He needs to think and put things in place before he just acts out on them. How can I know this is true? is a statement of doubt, yes, but it's a statement not of obstinate unbelief. It's a statement of caution and care.
I remember when I began to have the sense that I should perhaps leave the Methodists and look for somewhere else to minister. The idea came to me - a prompt in my spirit from God, I believe. But I didn't walk into church that afternoon and resign! I felt the prompting and thought... how can I know this is true? I doubted! And so I began to press into those doubts to see where God might be leading.
Some people have this saying - they say "God said it, I believe it, it's done!" And usually when they say that, people around say “AMEN!” Well for Abram, God said it... and he doubted. He waited and saw God prove His words first.
We're humans. Our understanding of God's revelation is, at its best, flawed. When we hear something that may be God, it's human to say hang on. Let's see.
