Dealing With Doubt

It's bound to happen to every believer at some point in life:

• You find yourself caught in a swirl of perplexing circumstances and for the first time find yourself asking, "Why, Lord? Do you even notice what's going on down here?"
• A coworker points out what he believes is a glaring discrepancy between two verses of Scripture. Thrown completely off your guard, you are at a loss for answers.
• You've prayed and prayed for a promotion, only to be passed over for someone who seems less qualified than you. "I wonder if I'm just wasting my time praying--God doesn't seem to really care."

If you're honest with yourself, you know that from time to time you've experienced that sinking feeling inside known as doubt. Gnawing, uncomfortable, persistent doubt. It happens to new believers and it happens to the most seasoned Christians.

Why do we have doubts? Because of some deficiency in ourselves? In our belief system? One of the oldest books of the Bible records the doubts of a suffering man named Job. After disaster strikes his family and health, Job cries out in agony to God: "If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you" (Job 7:20). Believe it or not, God did not strike him dead on the spot. Instead, God allowed Job to vent, then helped him to understand something about the true nature of the Divine.

Later on, in the New Testament, another famous doubter wonders whether Jesus could have actually risen from the dead after a horrendous death on the cross. "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side," Thomas declared, "I will not believe it" (John 20:27). Jesus did appear to Thomas, but it was not to punish him for his doubt. Rather Christ helped him to grow beyond it. "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (vs. 29).

So how should you deal with doubt? Here are some suggestions:

1. Confront doubt, don't merely brush it aside. Ignoring it does not make it go away; it only postpones it for a later time.
2. Look at doubt as an opportunity to grow. Don't beat up on yourself for your feelings. Instead, consider them a normal stage in your spiritual development.
3. Dig for the truth. Truth can only lead you closer to the will of God, so you have nothing to fear by searching for it. And, according to Proverbs 8:17, wisdom is available for the asking: "Those who seek me, find me."
4. Talk to someone about it, preferably someone who is strong in the Faith. The likelihood that a mature Christian has grappled with the same doubt as you is relatively certain.
5. Pray. You will be amazed at the clarity of mind you will experience just by opening up your heart to God and letting him hear everything.

A troubled man once came to Jesus and asked him to heal his tormented child. "If you can do anything anything, take pity on us and help us." "If I can?" Jesus replied, apparently incredulous. "Everything is possible for him who believes." The man, recognizing his personal struggle with doubt, made a very courageous request of the Lord: "I do believe," he said, "help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:22-24).

What a great way to approach doubt! As you sort through all the happenings of this week, ask God to open the eyes of yours spiritual understanding to be able to recognize and take hold of the Truth.

-WJS-