When the doubts tell us to distance ourselves from Jesus, one way we fight it is by drawing closer to him. We continue to hang out with him through his Word and in prayer, even when the doubts are not gone. The disciples modeled another way we can keep doubt from overcoming our faith: they worshipped.
And not only is it normal, but it's also necessary. Doubts are the growing pains of the faith. It's always been that way. They're usually seasons of discomfort, and sometimes they bring us to tears.
Lord, our fear and doubt feel ever before us. And yet Lord, despite this struggle, you love us. Lord, even though we are fearful and anxious about the very things you have provided for us over and over again, you are patient and kind and merciful to us. Lord thank you for your grace.
Overcoming doubt and unbelief will depend on God's strength, not ours. Let's remember that the problem of evil and suffering is one thing that brings so much doubt to Christians and unbelievers. We have to understand God sees the big picture and we have to understand His character and who He is.
It is possible that it is a variety of things in your life that are causing you to feel a loss of faith. Whether it is stress, trauma, grief, or just feeling a disconnect from God and the world around you, it is important to assess these emotions.
The four stages—Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony—offer a path forward that can help sincere and thoughtful people leave behind unnecessary baggage and intensify their commitment to what matters most.
Faith is not the absence of doubt, but rather faith keeps believing even in the midst of your doubts. Remember that faith is more than seeing. Faith is more than observable facts.
Faith helps remove all doubt. Once you have a vision of what you want and have faith in it, this will give you the faith and strength to get there. Faith is a commitment. Remember you wouldn't have the desire in your goals if you didn't have the ability to achieve it.
Adam, Eve, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, and the list goes on. They all were doubters. Even Jesus' family thought He was crazy. All the disciples ran away in doubt, not just Thomas.
Faith is moving forward in spite of your doubt
Faith is taking God at his word, even when you don't understand or cannot see how He will do it. For Abraham, his actions motivated by his faith, proved him righteous (James 2:23). Doubt may have entered his mind, but he never let it get into his heart.
Decide to focus on what God says about you, not what other people say. Decide to be hopeful, not fearful, about your future. The remedy for self-doubt is confidence. Part of the fruit of the healing of the soul is increased confidence—not in ourselves, but in God.
Many people are interested in distinguishing between the words agnostic and atheist. The difference is quite simple: atheist refers to someone who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods, and agnostic refers to someone who doesn't know whether there is a god, or even if such a thing is knowable.
An agnostic theist believes in the existence of one or more gods, but regards the basis of this proposition as unknown or inherently unknowable. The agnostic theist may also or alternatively be agnostic regarding the properties of the god or gods that they believe in.
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.
Since you can only doubt what you already believe, doubt and unbelief are very different, and it is crucial to grasp this difference. Doubt is questioning what you believe. Unbelief is a determined refusal to believe.
Unbelieving doubt questions God's character because He is beyond our understanding. Believing doubt trusts in God's character because He is beyond our understanding. At its base, doubt is simply not knowing something, not being sure.
Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, and is uncertain about them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, distrust or lack of conviction on certain facts, actions, motives, or decisions.
Jesus prevented the demons from revealing who he is, because it is not yet his time (Mark 3:11). Three things, then, for our consideration, as we try to live our lives as Christians, that we can learn from Mark's Gospel: presence, prayer, and patience.
God of love – I feel like I am lost but your word says that you will always guide me. You do not leave me wandering through life but you are with me during every moment of every day. Help me to follow your ways when I feel weary and frustrated and help me to experience joy in life.
Increasing our faith requires trusting the Lord with our whole souls and striving to act as He would in all circumstances. Jesus Christ's early Apostles opened a rich vein of pure gold for our consideration when they pleaded to the Lord, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).