Every Christian struggles with doubt—whether it be doubt in the gospel, doubt in God’s good works, doubt in our ability to be good Christians, and/or doubt in our salvation.
The problem is that on top of these doubts, we often feel guilt. We feel bad that we are questioning God’s word or Christ’s sacrifice. The guilt on top of the doubt is a bad combination and can exacerbate the dilemma of doubt. Once doubt enters in and infects us on a conscious level, we may interpret it as outright unbelief. We begin down the road to complete faithlessness.
Don’t mistake doubt as unbelief. During a crisis of faith, don’t foster your curious uncertainty into full-blown skepticism.
Instead, think of doubt as a bridge that connects current faith to perfect faith. And instead of feeling remorse for your doubt, I encourage you to do something about it. Feed your doubt with God’s word. Read, research, think, and, most importantly, pray. Surround yourself with believers and ask questions. Loving God and choosing to pursue him is a decision you make in your heart and deep down in your core, and although doubt will always be there, you can choose to alleviate those doubts with the truths of the Bible and through prayer.
If you feel doubt creep in and you begin to question your faith overall, say this prayer repeatedly if you have to:
“Lord, I believe in you. I believe you are good. I believe that I am secure in you – that I am hidden in you, and no real harm can come to me with you as my rock and my salvation. I believe that you see me, and you love me – that I am treasured in your sight. Help my unbelief. Help that head knowledge become heart knowledge- so that my actions reflect those truths and not the lies the enemy throws at me.”
And let your doubt be the bridge from imperfect faith to perfect faith in God.
