Skip to main content

Valley of the Shadow of Doubt


                Abraham pitched his tent in the land he was promised, and lived there for years without any of it becoming his. We know that he had doubts and "concerns" because he voiced them. I've been wandering around in the land of words, pitching my writer's tent in articles, stories, and poetry. In each I feel like a stranger. The words flow from my finger tips onto the screen only to be deleted. "Garbage!" my inner critic hisses.

                Such is the life of a writer, I know. I also know that my inner critic is wrong. At least, I think it is wrong. The writing may not be good, but the ideas are. I find myself in a valley of the shadow of doubt. As a shadow, it is not the real doubt, but an insubstantial quantum thing with distorted shape. There are no specifics, and nothing with which to grapple. It is in one place, then another. It dissipates and divides only to reform again. Its reality is in its absence of reality. Light reveals it to be nothing.  

                A true doubt is rare. They tend to be solitary beasts that stand in the road and refuse to give way. As such, they can be examined. A weakness can be found with which they can be forced out of the way. Shadows of doubt are not like this. They travel in packs and even as one, riding the air  and flowing along the ground seeking prey. When someone wanders from well-known paths, or separates from those who support and encourage, the shadows attack - as insubstantial as a thought but with the toxic touch that melts resolve and reduces a soul to shadow and ash.

                The antidotes to the shadow of doubt are light and faith. Faith cannot do it by itself.  Faith without fact is fancy, and faith without works, is dead. Our faith, then, must be in what has been revealed already- in what we know to be true, and we must continue to walk in it even when shadows hide the way.

         This is my lesson today in Mission Faithwalk - that I must continue what I have begun. He has guided before. He has not allowed me to miss my way so far. I guess that means I have some work to finish today - a next step to take. So, with a deep breath - it is done. One e-mail, with one article. It is well-written. It shares a truth that can help people. It is at least possible that the person to whom I have sent it is looking for, hoping for, and waiting for it and will be delighted to receive it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more