Doubt sounds like such a shameful word. It’s something we often run from as Christians. Yet it appears in many different ways, from doubt in God’s existence to doubt in our salvation to disbelief in God’s sovereignty.

Give yourself grace

“For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.”

Romans 3:3-4 NKJV

Just as God shows us mercy every time we fall, we must give ourselves understanding when we doubt. Our doubt does not scare God away. His faithfulness and love are not dependent on our unfaltering faith. He loves us because it is His character, so don’t be afraid to pray over your doubts. Our hearts lie to us, feelings move like the tide, and those who build their religious foundation upon the waves of emotion will be disappointed and fall victim to doubt.

God is ready and able to answer

“Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Romans 14:22-23 NKJV

I often condemn myself when I find doubt in my heart. I allow the shame of questioning to silence my reasonable inquiries. By doing so, I give Satan an “in” to my heart and a way to grow the doubt later on by convincing me that my question has no answer. But just like teachers aren’t afraid of a student’s question because they are prepared and ready to help a student understand fully, so God is prepared and able to teach us. He wants to strengthen our knowledge of Him; He wants our faith to be founded on facts and real experiences.  

Doubt is “the gap between our current faith and perfect faith. If this is the case, we all doubt,” Michael Patton said in an article for The Gospel Coalition titled “7 Ways to Deal with Doubt.”

Doubt is “the gap between our current faith and perfect faith. If this is the case, we all doubt,”

Michael Patton

Doubt and fear

It’s important to understand that doubt is human. It’s a part of the “growing pains” of Christianity. Often I begin to doubt when I don’t understand a Bible study or when I feel disconnected from God. Then fear takes over. I fear that God will be disappointed in my questions. But He reminds me of this picture of Jesus teaching His disciples in the wilderness. When they ask their questions, He welcomes the inquiries of those who ask with open hearts, desirously seeking the truth. Jesus only rebuked the lack of faith when the disciples tried to silence their doubts on their own, or even worse, tried to deal with the situation without faith. When the disciples assumed Jesus didn’t care or didn’t have an answer, their hearts became hardened to hearing the truth because they assumed a false answer. Read more here.

The purpose of doubt

Don’t let your fight with doubt be a lazy one—attack with ferocity and truth. Respect your mind’s questions not by entertaining the prospect of its potential truth but by taking the opportunity to put that doubt to rest. Whenever I find a question that I can’t answer and I feel doubt begin to set in, I remind myself that God can turn a bad situation into a good outcome, just as He did for Joseph in Egypt. When I open-heartedly seek answers for the questions my heart asks, God not only gives me answers but seals the truth in my heart for future use in ministering to others.

For example, I wrestled with a question; I can’t remember the specifics. But while I was tempted to lock the doubt in a box and try to forget about it, God reminded me that loyalty doesn’t mean not asking questions. It simply means giving God the benefit of the doubt. God reminded me to surrender my skepticism by asking the question with an open heart, ready and eager to hear the truth. Because God is faithful, I received my answer, not immediately, but soon enough. Then, receiving peace in my heart, I processed the question, received my answer, and only grew my faith in God.

God is unafraid

It’s important to note that God is not afraid of questions. Nothing can disprove the truth because God is truth; there is no truth without God. God is not scared of science because He created all things. History does not intimidate God; He wrote it. God is not afraid of our questions; He knows all the answers.

Back to my story, only a few short months later, I spoke with a friend about philosophy and God’s existence and truth when the same question arose. In His sovereignty, He allowed me to question something for the dual purpose of strengthening not only my faith but the faith of another. If I had ignored the question, I wouldn’t have gotten an answer or been able to give an answer.

Another way doubt rears its ugly head is through doubting your own mind. Click here to read more.

Look out for the continuation of this article next week!

How has God answered your deepest questions? How has He eased your doubts?

Until next time,

-Alycia Dantier