Doubt is a natural human emotion. In many cases, it’s actually a healthy response to something that your mind is telling you that you need to steer away from. However, there are times where doubt is a very unhealthy response. If you’re struggling with doubt in regard to your spiritual life or something that you’re asking God to do, don’t feel guilty. However, you can defeat doubt and build up your faith by applying these practical steps.
If we’re being honest, all of us have experienced moments of doubt in our spiritual lives. Perhaps you’ve been praying about the same thing for what seems like forever, but it looks like nothing is changing and things are actually getting worse. In those moments, it’s easy to let doubt creep in. Sometimes the doubt starts out small. You may wonder if God’s really listening. Maybe you’ve wondered if God loves you as much as you thought He did. Even worse, sometimes our doubt grows to a point where we wonder if the problem that we’re facing is too big for God to handle.
There are two things that we should clear up before we dive into a strategic approach against doubt. First of all, having moments of doubt is not a sinful behavior that repels God. Multiple times in Scripture, we can see times where the disciples doubted Christ’s goodness in the middle of a situation. He never walked away from them and decided to pick new disciples. Instead, He corrected them lovingly and reinforced the things that they already knew about Him.
Secondly, no matter how strong those feelings of doubt are, understand that your Heavenly Father relentlessly loves you. He hears every prayer that you pray and sees every tear that you’ve cried. Finally, there is nothing going on in your life that is beyond God’s capabilities.
Are you dealing with doubt? You’re in good company. Today, we’re going to look at three people who played key roles in Scripture who experienced doubt. God didn’t give up on them, and He won’t give up on you either.
Doubting Thomas
John 20:29 (TPT)
Jesus responded, “Thomas, now that you’ve seen me, you believe. But there are those who have never seen me with their eyes but have believed in me with their hearts, and they will be blessed even more.
Thomas kind of gets a bad rap. He was one of the hand-picked disciples that Christ chose when He was building his team of disciples that were going to change the world. We don’t have a lot of examples of Thomas doubting until the day of the resurrection. After the women had been to the tomb and had interacted with the resurrected Lord, Thomas informed them that he wasn’t going to believe until he seen the wounds of the nails and touched them with his own hands. From that point on, the Church has referred to Thomas as a doubter.
The rest of Thomas’ life was spent spreading the Gospel around the world, yet he is still largely considered a doubter by the masses. However, in the verses that we just read, Jesus didn’t chastise Thomas for his doubt. He didn’t appear to the other 10 disciples while ignoring Thomas. Surely, Christ had the right to look at Thomas and say, “I don’t want you on the team anymore, Thomas. You didn’t believe when you should have.” Instead, he made special provisions to go to Thomas and dissuade his doubts.
Don’t let doubt define you. Even if you’ve had moments where you’ve doubted, understand that God doesn’t want you to feel shame because of it. He doesn’t want you to hang your head down and assume that you’ve been disqualified from Kingdom work because you had a moment of weakness. Instead, allow Him to minister directly to you the same way that He did to Thomas. Thomas would play a key role in the expansion of the early Church. Your role in the Kingdom is not defined by the moments of doubt that you’ve experienced.
John The Baptist
Matthew 11:2-3 (TPT)
Now, while John the Baptizer was in prison, he heard about what Christ was doing among the people, so he sent his disciples to ask him this question: Are you really hte one prophesied would come, or should we still wait for another?
You may be amazed to find out that even John the Baptist had a moment of doubt. The man who the Bible heralds as one of the first evangelists in the New Testament hit a moment in his Christian journey where he doubted the sovereignty of Christ. It’s also worth noting that John the Baptist was a cousin of Christ. He had grown up hearing about who Jesus was and that He was the promised Messiah. However, when he was locked in a prison for preaching, he had a moment where he wondered if he had bought into the wrong person.
Did Christ rebuke John? Did He scold John’s disciples who came to Him and presented the question? Absolutely not! Look at Christ’s answer:
Matthew 11:4-6 (TPT)
Jesus answered them, “Give John this report: ‘The blind see again, the crippled walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised back to life, and the poor and broken now hear of the hope of salvation!’ And tell John that hte blessing of heaven comes upon those who never lose their faith in me-no matter what happens.
Jesus didn’t get angry. Instead, He responded to John’s doubt with evidence of things He had already accomplished. If you find yourself doubting, take a moment and remind yourself of the things in your life that you’ve seen God do already. John knew what he had seen and heard about, but he doubted when things got hard. Christ didn’t take away John’s call or position in the Kingdom. Instead, He reminded him of the truth he knew.
Let Doubt Propel You to Seek
Acts 17:11 (TPT)
They found that the Jews of Berea were of more noble character and much more open minded than those of Thessalonica. They were hungry to learn and eagerly received the word. Every day they opened the scrolls of Scripture to search and examine them, to verify that what Paul taught them was true.
Henry Drummond, an ancient Scottish evangelist is quoted as saying, “Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is ‘I can’t believe’; unbelieve is ‘I won’t believe.’ Doubt is honest, unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness.”
The people who Paul met in Berea had their doubts. Keep in mind, most of these people weren’t saved during Christ’s public ministry. Instead, they were taking the word of Paul, a man who sought to persecute the Church during the years that Jesus was preaching. The people in Thessalonica doubted too, but they allowed their doubt to drive them away from the truth.
When you doubt, you have two options. You can allow your doubt to drive a wedge between you and God, or you can use your doubt to push you to a place where you look for more of His presence through the truth of His Word. The people of Berea opted for the latter. They weren’t sure that what Paul taught was right, so they searched the Scriptures for themselves. That’s why Paul applauded them for being more openminded than the people of Thessalonica.
Will your doubt serve as a distraction to you, or will it drive you closer to Christ? It sounds counterintuitive, but it can actually lead you to a place where you discover more about His character and the plans that He has for you.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I don’t want to be a doubter, but sometimes it’s just so hard. I know that You are who You say You are, and that You love me unconditionally. Help me to overcome my doubt and trust in You more. I won’t let my doubt define me, and I won’t let it keep me from a constant pursuit of Your goodness. In Christ’s name, Amen.