"We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." –Doubting Thomas
Often times we are presented with facts and fiction. Sometimes fiction will be present as facts. How will this information, that is being presented and how we perceive it, be manifested as believing or quite doubtful? Doubt - that unnerving feeling of uncertainty - visits each one of us at one time or another during our journey. You worry that you might be wasting your time. You consider throwing in the towel and giving up.
In Camelot, King Arthur says to Lancelot that he is satisfied he did the right thing in starting the round table. Lancelot replies, "Your majesty, did you ever doubt it?" And Arthur responds, "Lance, only a fool never doubts." Doubt is a conformation of faith, for it is an indication of the seriousness and value of faith to the doubter.
There are two types of doubt. There is a constructive useful doubt and there is a destructive destroying doubt. Constructive useful doubt (CUD) is like a cow chewing on a cud. You chew on the information for awhile, but you take action and you begin to digest through questioning thoughts and information. It is that feeling that urges us to question rather than take someone else's word for everything. Without this constructive form of doubt we could easily be lied too, cheated, and led about blindly by others.
Destructive destroying doubt is like a worm which grows and feeds on the worries and fears, guilt and regrets and prevents one from stepping out on faith in order to grow. It dwells on issues and problems and does not see a future. It creates distrust of everyone and everything, including ourselves. We never feel the decisions we make are right and are often unable to make decisions or do anything at all; for fear that the outcome will be unpleasant.
There is a German saying that states, "To believe everything is too much; to believe in nothing is not enough." Helen Keller, who was blind from birth but who accomplished much through her handicaps, said this about doubt: "It need not discourage us if we are full of doubts. Healthy questions keep faith dynamic. Unless we start with doubts we cannot have a deep-rooted faith. He who has a faith which is not to be shaken has won it through blood and tears -- has worked his way from doubt to truth as one who reaches a clearing through a thicket of brambles and thorns."
Doubt is really the faith of unbelief. Doubt is a valid tool as a lifeline to double check if all is well to set sail. Patience is attributed to Job and yet is not always a virtue: when a question or even a protest to God is in our heart and mind and soul, it may be time to speak up. God doesn’t take umbrage or offense when we ask or question. Faith in God gives us stability and coherence. The world around us may be crumbling, but God, as the psalmist says, is a sure foundation, the rock of our salvation. Whatever happens around me, I know that at least God can be counted on. He is faithful.
Doubt is a spiritually destructive force. It tears you away from God. Doubt is not the enemy, but a gift of God to move us from trusting ourselves to trusting him. Doubt feels like God is far away or absent, but it is actually a time of “disguised closeness” to God that moves us to spiritual maturity. Doubt is not a sign of weakness but a sign of growth.
The book of Job makes it clear that doubt can be, and often is, the key factor in overcoming a falsehood. We are not called to have faith in everything that claims to be food for the soul. We are called to test it and evaluate it, and judge it by its fruit. To have faith in everything or to believe in everything is the same as believing nothing.
Why seek if you think you have it all? But if you doubt that you have it all, you will seek for more doubt can always be made a virtue if it is handled right, and used as an opportunity for growth. John the Baptist was using his this way, but the Pharisees were using their doubt as an excuse to not grow, and a shield to prevent their having to see the light. We need to stop fearing doubt and recognize it as an ally to faith
John the Baptist represents the doubter who is just the opposite of the Pharisees. Their doubt drove them to the denial of all evidence, but his doubt drove him to seek more evidence. John was in prison for doing the will of God, and even one so use to being deprived of life's luxuries, can not be happy in such bondage. John began to doubt whether or not Jesus was really the Messiah. This one who said of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," was now isolated and felt forsaken. His personal crisis led him into the shadows of doubt, and he asked his disciples to go to Jesus and ask Him right out if He was the one who was to come, or if they should expect someone else?
John was saying, I have lost my certainty and lack assurance, and I need some evidence to eliminate the doubts that are creeping into my faith. This kind of doubt can hurt, but it is like the pain of exercise; it hurts, but it leads to the strengthening of the muscle. Doubt that motivates a man to seek for more evidence is not harmful to his faith, but helpful, for it will lead him, as it did John, to get that which supports his faith.
Paul stated it in I Thess. 5:21, "Test everything, hold fast to the good." When you test and chase away that doubt then you are on the road to new discoveries. Jesus understood John's doubt, and he will understand yours. Come to Christ, as John did, and seek for answers to the mysteries that puzzle you and provoke doubt. It can be painful, but the end result will be the pleasure of a deeper faith. Don't let doubt drag you into darkness.
Job's doubt was good, for it did not plunge him into unbelief. Doubt will not hurt us as long as we always put our trust in Christ. Self-doubt is usually seen as a bad thing in today’s society. When you're working hard at something, learning and growing, it's natural to feel uncertain at times. The boldest step of faith we can take is to doubt ourselves and trust in God.
How to overcome destructive doubt:
Test to see if it is worthy to doubt. Assess whether the doubt is in fact destructive. By asking: "How often do I experience doubt after making a decision?" "Do I frequently avoid making decisions because I am afraid they will be wrong?" "Do I constantly reassess and change my plans in hopes of getting it right?" If you relate to any of these questions then you are most likely experiencing destructive doubt. Now that you've interrupted the doubt, it needs to be replaced with an empowering thought or belief
2. Take Action:
Doubt and indecision can stall progress. The point of this step is to stop the doubt in its tracks so that it doesn't have a chance to root itself in your thought processes. You're worried that you're not making enough progress, and that worry and doubt make you so unsure about you need to do next that you just stop doing anything. Take captive every thought, “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
3. Re-build Confidence:
If you're feeling insecure, you can remedy that with fresh victories - victories of all stripes, shapes and sizes. Victories don't have to be huge milestones. Each small step is a victory in itself. Have faith in yourself, your dream, resolution and goals! Always maintain hope. Begin to trust yourself and your ability to make effective decisions
Job’s questioning of God; so it was with Thomas, yet these are men of passion and love of the Lord is an inspiration and reassuring proof that doubt, when it comes, does not have to be a negative. Doubt is debating on using blind trust. It is trust through Christ as Peter did walking on the water can we begin to grow our faith. Doubt compels us to glimpse at who we think God is. It makes us face whether we really trust God, or whether we trust what we have made Him to be in our own minds.
Doubting God is agonizing and frightening because we think we are leaving God behind. But doubt—real hard deep unnerving uncomfortable scary doubt—helps us to see that, maybe we have made God into our own image. We come to discover, slowly but surely, that the “faith” we are losing is not faith in God. It is actually in the idea of God that we surround ourselves with.
