What is faith? Is it the lack of doubt?
After her death, Mother Teresa’s diaries were published. In them she expressed her doubt that God existed. Yet, no one can deny the good she did in his name.
Did Mother Teresa have faith? She certainly had her share of doubt. Is it possible the two go hand in hand?
Hebrews 11:1-40 speaks to us about faith. It also reveals much to us about doubt.
The first verse of this passage gives a clear definition of faith, telling us that it is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.
Mother Teresa held the evidence of her faith in the palm of her hand. She was granted her own order, The Missionaries of Charity, in 1950. Before she died, her order had instituted over 500 missions in more than 100 countries, including hospices, orphanages, and leper houses.
Yet, Mother Teresa was plagued by doubt. She felt she had been called to endure her life without feeling the presence of God.
Hebrews 11 reminds us Abraham offered his son on the altar as a testament of his faith.
We also read of those who were mocked; scrounged; stoned; sawn asunder; slain with the sword...and more. Their faith did not take them out of their trials, just as Mother Teresa’s faith did not take her out of hers.
What good is faith, then, if it does not eliminate the problems we face in this life?
We find part of the answer in Verse 19, for Abraham knew that God could raise his son from the dead. Abraham’s faith came from what he trusted God to do. His trust in God overcame his doubt.
Verse 25 tells us that Moses chose suffering over a season of pleasure, for he looked to his final reward. Moses understood that the things of this life are temporary, and only the things of God are lasting. His belief in God’s eternal plan cast his doubt aside.
What enabled Mother Teresa to maintain her faith through the final five decades of her life, even though, by her own testament, she felt God’s absence the entire time?
The answer to the question of faith is found in the final two verses in Hebrews 11. It is through Jesus’ death on the cross that we have our faith made real. His crucifixion and risen salvation give us the hope that we will someday be made perfect in him.
Faith is not the lack of doubt. Faith is hope in our risen Savior, for he is the substance of our desires, and the evidence of our changed hearts.
Mother Teresa didn’t have to feel God’s presence to have faith in him. She had the hope that comes from our risen Savior’s sacrifice, giving us the promise of eternal life in his arms.
When we trust in the Lord, our faith comes from our hope in the One who died on the cross for our sins.
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