Losing weight. Quitting drinking. Following Jesus. These are just a few examples of how we seek to improve ourselves, to change our lives. These examples are good things but certainly not easy to do. One of the hardest aspects of our personal growth journey comes from those closest to us. Our family, our friends, our colleagues may not understand, may not like, may not want to see us grow – for any number of reasons – and consciously or not, undermine our efforts to change. 

• “Oh, one cookie won’t hurt”
• “It’s just a little pizza.”
• “One drink. You’ll be fine.”
• “You think you’re better than me now?  I know the real you.”

Studies show that friends can sabotage our efforts… the very people we think should be encouraging us, supporting us.

Change doesn’t happen overnight. 

New habits don’t cement themselves in one day. It takes determination and discipline to form new habits, change our lifestyles, and become the person we want to be. You may be nodding your head as you read this because you’ve been there. You’ve doubted. You’ve been doubted. You wonder if you really can make the change permanent. 

Now imagine you’re incarcerated and you live in the definition of a hostile environment. We minister to inmates all the time and the toughest thing we encounter in those we serve is not getting them to accept Jesus but to have others accept them. 

Those we serve leave our 3Thirds Discipleship study sessions and go back to their cells surrounded by people who actively sabotage them to discourage them. And, in all candor, some of the people act like Jesus when they are in discipleship study and then go back living life in the exact opposite manner. 

While this is certainly not a new phenomenon, to those inmates who are genuinely interested in changing their lives, it is incredibly discouraging and creates doubt as to whether this Jesus guy is real, if they have the ability to make the life change they desire, if all this faith stuff is just a bunch of crap.

Again, you may be able to relate in some manner to how these inmates feel in their moments of doubt. But consider this – these men live in a confined space, limited by their surroundings, and in our COVID world, cut off from the outside world because visitors are not allowed at this time.

But is doubt a bad thing? Not always.

We’re familiar with the term “doubting Thomas”. It is a reference to the Apostle Thomas, who refused to believe that the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles until he could see and feel the wounds received by Jesus on the cross. When Jesus appeared before Thomas and let him touch the wounds in His hands, that was the end of Thomas’ doubt. The doubt of the claims of others allowed Jesus to do a work that cemented Thomas’ faith from that day forward.

It is sometimes in our moments of doubt when God does His greatest work.

Our doubt in ourselves, in our circumstances, in whether what we believe is real, God can shine a light of clarity that erases doubt and cements our faith. In the moments of doubt, instead of leaning away from God, we must lean in to Him harder. As men and women of faith, it is up to us to encourage others, to pray for them, to be God’s hands and feet in demonstrating for them what Jesus did for us – what a true Christian life lived acts like – regardless of our circumstances.

Would you pray for those men we serve who are struggling right now, who are doubting, who need God to do work to show them their faith is real, that their life change is worth the discouragement that surrounds them, and to lean in harder to God?

It’s easy to do! 

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