One of the most difficult things that Christians have trouble dealing with is doubt. How do we have faith if any part of us does not completely believe and trust in what God is doing? The Scripture tells us that Abram believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness (15:6). Yet, a few verses later Abram is asking God, “How will I know?”
God’s answer is simple. He commands Abram to bring several specific animals. They are cut in two. The pieces are placed opposite of each other. God gives his answer to Abram’s doubts. Night falls and God moves through the dead animal pieces. What seems like an unusual gesture is in fact highly significant. In Abram’s day, similar ceremonies would take place in the establishment of a covenant. The point of the ceremony was simple. You break this covenant, the penalty is death. The great unfathomably shocking part is who moves through the pieces. People of the day would have expected Abram to walk through the pieces. This would signify that if the covenant is broken, the consequence of death would fall on Abram and his heirs.
God’s answer to Abram’s doubts is to take the consequences and the responsibility of keeping the covenant upon himself. This includes the consequence of death. God is in a sense saying that when the covenant is broken, he will come and die in place of his people. This has been accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Doubt is only human. God responds to our doubt by showing how far his love has gone to ensure our continued fellowship with him.
Abram tries to bring about what God had promised apart from God. He uses human means to bring about an heir. This was an understandably human thing to do. The consequences of this decision brought generations of conflict on Abram’s progeny. Yet, God still worked through Abram’s failings to bring about everything that had been promised. God can handle our doubts and failings. We do not need to fear them because God overcame them in Jesus.
God can handle our doubt.
Rev. David Richards
