In too many spiritual communities doubt remais a taboo subject. Pete Enns offered an interesting essay about the need for doubt as part of spiritual growth and maturity and it was reposted on the Jesus Creed blog.
It's funny what we remember from long-ago fleeting moments. More than 30 years ago I first heard a speaker say,"Wonder how atheists feel when they wake up doubting their faith?" It was said in a humorous way to take the stigma preventing young believers from discussing their honest doubts. In those circles, it was disgraceful to admit any doubt or challenge certain opinions - although we all did in secret. The comment created a safe place for an honest and stimulating conversation as well as a hunger for more of them.
Here's just a snipplet:
“Let go and let God.” It’s true—but “letting go” might be more than we bargained for. We must be taught, for we will not willingly go there ourselves. When we are not letting go, when we try to stay in control of something, cling to something as Mother Teresa says, that’s when God turns off the light and makes it dark—not because he is against us, but because he is for us.
Being out of control is another way of saying “dying to yourself.” When we are out of control, that is when God can speak to us—without all of the layers of stuff we have piled up inside of us. God puts us out of our control so that we can learn to trust—like Mother Teresa said—not “believe” or “have faith” but something deeper and harder: trust.
You can only trust when you have let go completely, when you don’t try to control. When we learn to trust God out of our emptiness, when God is out of our control—when God…becomes God more deeply in us—when we surrender and trust…well… we become liberated from our attachments, from our fears, and we learn to live with freedom and joy. That is the Christian journey.
