We ended last week talking about the Mark of the Christian, which was identified as loving God and loving others. We learned how the Bible repeatedly commands us to love and how we must make this the primary pursuit of our Christian life. We got to that important discussion, however, from an article titled “Spiritual Clickbait”, which was defined as the kind of temptation that leads us away from God. Events in our lives or the lives of others can cause us grief and even depression and, sometimes, even threaten our faith. It’s time to come full circle.

How can we move from doubting God to loving him? The answer isn’t as complicated as it may seem. Step one is to identify those times in your life when God was most real to you – those times when He came through in a significant way. If you keep a journal, now is a great time to crack it open and read about those events leading up to God’s intersession. If you don’t have a physical memory aid, do your best and write them down. This is a Biblical practice:

“O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity. You have kept your word to your servant, my father David; this very day you have fulfilled what you promised.” -- 2 Chronicles 6.14-.15

In the passage above we see Solomon making reference to God’s past promises and their fulfilment. This is a common Old Testament practice and one that is helpful to every generation.

Step two, surround yourself with the people of God. They may be family, close friends, or even a co-worker or online acquaintance but whomever they may be, get in touch with them and share your struggle. They may not be able to answer all your questions, but their love for you and for God is contagious. Loving God isn’t always about getting answers, sometimes its finding solutions to our questions in the faith of others. This is why we are warned by the author of Hebrews:

And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near. – Hebrews 10.24-25

Step three, pray. Pray in a quiet place, pray with others, pray often and pray with sincerity. God is bigger than your doubts and can handle your honesty. Prayer is a mainstay of the Christian life for a reason, it is hard to doubt someone you are talking to. Prayer also helps build connections between you and your Creator. It’s a commonly made distinction, that the people you talk to the most are the people you are closest with. Likewise, the more time you spend with God in prayer the closer to him you will become. This truth, and the others before it, are nicely summarized by the Lord’s half-brother:

Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. – James 5.13-16