May 28

Loss of Faith

So John called two of his disciples and sent them to ask the Lord, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?” — Luke 7:19 BSB

John was in prison at the fortress of Machaerus, and it was far from a cheerful place to be. We shouldn’t be too surprised that his faith wavered for a time. Yet many people find it hard to believe that a man as strong and courageous as John could have doubted. They forget that John lived at the dawn of the gospel, before the full light of Christ had been revealed. He had only a fraction of the understanding we have today, yet do we never experience doubt, even with all the knowledge we now possess? The truth is, we all get discouraged sometimes, often for far less serious reasons than John had.

We tend to be quick to judge others for their weaknesses but slow to recognize our own. We’re amazed at Moses for losing his temper and speaking harshly under provocation, yet we can’t get through a single day without a worse outburst over much smaller things. We wonder how the apostle John, with all his humility, could once have sought a position of honor, yet we constantly strive for recognition ourselves. We marvel that people in Jesus’ time didn’t believe in Him despite witnessing His power, but our own faith isn’t any stronger.

It’s easy to judge John the Baptist for doubting in his dark moment, yet many of us are thrown into despair over the smallest difficulties. We often get more discouraged over financial setbacks or minor inconveniences than John did in his truly great trials.