Doubt Bay
Date: June 6th, 2022
Size: 30”x 30”
Cost: $300
“Then I believe. Help me with my unbelief!”—Mark 9:24
Doug talked about the normal experience of doubt, and the tendency to buttress that with “cognitive certainty” instead of seeking out answers, questioning, and wrestling with God.
So, I stood for over an hour in front of the canvas listening; sensing the atmosphere; clapping my hands to the music; praying; trying out different images in my mind. Doubt knocked on the door of my mind a few times… ’Is God going to show up today?’ I was tempted to think up an image that was related to the sermon theme and convince myself it was “inspired” all along. But, whenever I’ve forced myself to be certain of something, I’ve just ended up even more lost.
I eventually got an image of a cloudy sky with light piercing through in the form of a cross and a kayaker trying to navigate through daunting cliffs. The night before I saw a video of a woman live painting Jesus as a lion, and she painted with 2 hands! So, I grabbed another paint brush and gave it a try. After I finished the painting, I noticed something up in the clouds on the right side…the face of a lion! To me, this means that In the storm of our doubt, and efforts to convince ourselves of things, Jesus never leaves us. He is always with us in the storm…calling to us…trying to reveal himself to us.
Many people in the Bible struggled with doubt, doubt is not a sin, but a normal part of life. So, Jesus invites us to cry out, ‘Help me with my unbelief!’ and that simple act gives Holy Spirit permission to open the eyes of our heart to see the way through the cliffs!