The digital age is here. Will we navigate it wisely? Will we have the wisdom to know when “vinyl” may be a more effective medium? Can we shut off technology when it is harmful and not become slaves to it? As long as it is a tool to be used, it can be a mighty tool in our hands. But it will make a horrible god. Our anchor must be the gospel.

Doubt came out of nowhere for me.

I was a youth pastor doing what every youth pastor was doing in the late 2000s — showing that Louie Giglio Indescribable sermon about the vastness of our galaxy. It wasn’t the first time that I’d watched it myself. The first couple times I watched it I was drawn in and marveled at how big God is and how small I am. It did in my heart exactly what I think was intended.

But on this particular occasion it had the opposite effect. I don’t know why, but it came like a flood of questions. I felt inescapably small and the universe felt too big. Somehow it felt too big even for God. How could one Being keep all of this going? How could I possibly think that while all of this is going on, somehow God cares for me?

Yeah, I know that these are truths which are supposed to leave us breathless and inspire awe and resound in worship. That’s usually what happened. But for me, it created doubt. Depression began to overwhelm me. My thoughts felt out of my control in this season. Any time I tried to comfort myself with biblical truth, the voice of doubt smothered it.  

I kept running away from doubt. And it kept chasing me down. It only stopped when I quit running and decided to face it. Here are five things to know as you battle doubt.

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The message of Amos is that God is always just. He will not forget to execute His justice. But God is also a God of grace. When we believe that God is just and respond accordingly — in repentance — we are met with grace.

We must acknowledge from the beginning that our anger isn’t “righteous” simply because we feel justified in having it. Or that we can build a case for why we have been treated unfairly. Jonah could have done both of those things. Jonah was convinced that his anger was a good thing for him to hold onto. And Jonah was wrong.

For example, have you ever heard someone hypothesize that the number 666 in Revelation 13:18 points to Nero Caesar? Then you’ve witnessed the usage of gematria. But is this a biblical way to study Scripture?

Joel sees more than his current situation. Joel sees in the midst of these locusts the hand of God. Furthermore, Joel is looking forward to that great and mighty day of the Lord.

If we consider the context of Daniel 9, we’re right on the heels of a terrifying vision in Daniel 8. It is confirmed for Daniel that his people will have many terrifying days ahead. But in Daniel 9 he believes the time for exile might be up and so he prays. And he prays a mighty prayer of repentance. He is reassured of God’s love for him and then the angel Gabriel appears to give further comfort.

Our salvation is connected to Christ. If you can have an angry tirade in traffic and still be a Christian, you can botch your vote and still be a Christian. Your eternity is settled by what you do with Jesus, not by what you do with a political candidate.

What does God want us to do with these emotions? Should I run as far away from these emotions as I can get? The psalms, particularly psalms of lament, would lead me to believe that God welcomes us — even in the midst of these uncomfortable emotions. He has given us words to express our frustrations with Him.

Hope feels elusive. We live in an age that is marked by outrage, despair, and cynicism. And what’s worse, when many of you read that, something rose up within you to say, “Not me! Positive vibes only over here!” We vacillate between a cynical view of life and groundless optimism. 

That’s the main argument of the book I’m writing on hope. We know that hope isn’t cynicism. But it’s a more difficult argument to make that hope also isn’t optimism. Hope is grounded in something. Optimism isn’t tethered to reality — which is why many who start out as optimists end up as deeply cynical. 

Hope is something different. I define it as “When truth and beauty merge to give us a happy confidence that the gospel gets the last word.” I’ll give you one paragraph from my book, 

“When we realize we are drowning in despair, we are vulnerable to the lies of both cynicism and optimism. Cynicism is truth without beauty. Optimism is beauty without truth. Despair is a world with neither. But hope is when both truth and beauty merge.”

I’m writing this book for myself. I’ve battled depression and anxiety for many years of my life. I’m fighting for hope. Several years ago, I was fed up with being in the doldrums and decided I’d be a more positive person. It didn’t work. I ended up broken and even more cynical than when I began. My positivity wasn’t rooted in anything eternal. 

When I began to meditate upon hope and drink in the gospel anew, my view of hope began to transform. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m definitely more hopeful than I was a few years ago. I’m not nearly as cynical and I’ve grown away from toxic positivity. Here are a few ways I’ve found to become a more hopeful person.

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Ezekiel is so clouded with symbols and signs and actions that we can get lost in it all. Truthfully, digging deep here can almost feel like you’re interacting with a mad-man. But you aren’t. Ezekiel is actually a beautiful book that, if we’re able to see through the images a little, will point us to the gospel of Jesus. 

In the Bible, the term "grace" can refer to different kinds of unmerited favor from God. At its most basic, “grace” is to bestow favor and honor upon someone. Unsurprisingly, the dominant usage in the Scripture is when God kindly shows favor to humanity. But that does not necessarily mean that it is “saving” grace.

Jeremiah, often called the “weeping prophet” lived during one of the most tumultuous times for Judah. He predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon. It sounds like Jeremiah’s message emphasizes the “bad news” with very little “good news.” But it is in the midst of these dire warnings, Jeremiah also gives hope and the promise of redemption.

It’s fitting to celebrate when what was lost is found. Heaven rejoices when the lost are found. Is grace going to make you angry? Are you going to forfeit your own grace because you cannot bear this for your brother? That’s one of the main questions that hangs over this passage.