Dealing with “Doubting Castle” and “Giant Despair”

Although they may not always admit it, trusting isn’t easy for Christians. … Centuries ago in Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan pictured these moments of insecurity, calling them Doubting Castle and Giant Despair. And my experience is that nothing much has changed today for believers. We still despair. … When trials come, the doubts return. It doesn’t take long before we’re back wandering around in “Doubting Castle,” face to face with “Giant Despair.” … And yet, as Paul tells us, being a Christian isn’t about following a list of outward, righteous behaviors. “The Spirit of the living God” is, instead, written on “human hearts.” And the living Lord, alone, does the writing. We need only to offer a yielding heart. And we can do that because our “sufficiency” or “confidence,” all we need to know and all we need to be, come to us “through Christ” (NRSV 2 Cor. 3:3-5). (Drawn from Living Strong, chapter 28, ©️ 2014)