A Blessing for Doubters
May your questions drive you away from the false and shallow
And toward the mysterious truth.
May you reject vapid answers from those who call you to thin belief or brittle skepticism.
May you remember God is bigger than your beliefs and doubts.
May Jesus kill your constructs and resurrect your faith,
A new thing, surprising and wild.
In seasons of doubt, you walk in the dark—
May you not look for light where there is no light,
May you not convince yourself you can see more than you truly can.
Remember, Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
May you befriend the darkness.
You walk in the wilderness, and you will shed old beliefs that no longer give life.
You will also encounter mirages and temptations, like Jesus.
Do not seek their false comfort.
Know that disillusionment can be a gift.
You will think you are all alone, but you are in a liminal space explored by many.
Take comfort that you have companions throughout time.
May you listen to them, receive from them what you can,
But remember, no one can traverse the dark wilderness for you—this is your task.
Some beliefs that comforted you will not in the wilderness.
They may never comfort you again, you may never believe them again.
There will be no going back.
May you grieve their passing and move on.
You will learn things about yourself and about the Holy Spirit—
Things that will disturb you,
Things you may wish you did not know,
Things that will delight you beyond imagination.
You will encounter new thoughts and concepts.
Hold them loosely.
Some will have the ring of truth, but be hollow.
Some will first appear false, but be stout and durable.
Test, question, and test again.
Let love be your guide.
Pursue what draws you into deeper love for God and neighbor.
Leave behind what hinders love.
May you treat yourself gently.
Not all you believed was wrong.
It will be tempting to discard everything you once believed.
Wait. See what settles. Watch for what remains.
May you be like Hagar,
Who fled to the wilderness, in fear for her life.
God met her in a new way,
And she created a new name for God, El Roi, “The God Who Sees.”
May you be still. Remember to find fellow travelers.
Know they have their own journey, but they can walk with you for a time.
Just because you cannot know everything about God doesn’t mean you cannot know anything.
When you feel certain again, wait.
Hold that loosely, because one day, you may doubt that, too.
Tyler Watson writes fiction and theology. He has served as a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church and earned his MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has written one novel, The Gospel According to Doubters and Traitors, and several devotionals. You can find more about those works on this site.
