Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 9
The speaker describes his own struggle: “faith is not the absence of doubt, but… the choice to go forward in the midst of it,” and he says God “calls things of us in keeping with our ability”; how does this picture of God differ from common church expectations about assurance and doubt, and what obedience might God be calling for in seasons of unresolved questions?
Another way to ask: How is “faith means moving forward even with doubt” different from what many churches expect? When you still have questions, what might God be asking you to obey anyway?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker portrays God as calling mature perseverance rather than demanding a doubt-free mental state. In unresolved seasons, obedience looks like choosing to move forward faithfully, acknowledging complexity, and not expecting adult faith to remain childlike.
- Personal admission: “I’m a person who struggles with my faith… I don’t find it easy to believe.”
- Key definition: “faith is not the absence of doubt, but… the choice to go forward in the midst of it.”
- He affirms childlike faith is “beautiful,” but warns it would be “incorrect” to say “that’s all we should have… because we aren’t children, we’re adults.”
- He says, “God calls things of us in keeping with our ability… physical… mental… emotional,” and that God “asks everything of us.”
- He concludes: “faith realizes complexity and chooses to go forward.”