A Prayer for a Friend Doubting the Faith

I've never used the "share this" option for Blogger before...we'll see how this works. :)

I often link to Scotty Smith's "Heavenward" posts on Facebook...his prayers so often resonate with me, and he is one of those lyrically beautiful writers whose wordcraft I work hard not to covet. I really felt today's post merited more than Facebook's pesky character limit would allow. :)

A Prayer for a Friend Doubting the Faith

This post took me back to a time when I was the one, as Scotty Smith describes it, "with a bull's eye painted on [my] chest." Never would I have expected to be in that position..."beyond anger"...feeling abandoned by God...being sucked in by Satan's twisting, undermining, and sabotaging. I had been taught the foundational truths of "Jesus loves you" and "God is good" since cradle roll and had been a firm believer in God's sovereignty from the time I first understood the word. Suddenly, I found myself doubting God's goodness, and the thought of His sovereignty brought anger instead of comfort.

It was a mercifully short period, marked by intense wrestling with God over these and other issues. At the time, only a few friends (and my husband) knew about the struggles...and even they didn't know all that was going on in my heart at the time. Oh, how I hated that they were having to slog through such a pit alongside me...but oh, how thankful I was and am that they groaned and grappled and "stay[ed] present in [my] chaos".

I am so thankful for friends who didn't run {screaming!} the other way, but who pursued me in those dark days. I am even more thankful for the God who not only caused them to pursue me, but who pursued me Himself in His amazing love and grace. I am ever-so-thankful for joy tenderly and mercifully restored. And I pray that God will give me the grace and boldness to be a grappling, groaning, pursuing, present-in-chaos friend to those who are wrestling with bull's eyes on their chests...today, next week, and always...