How Does God See My Doubt?

DOUBT: How does God see it? Is it a sin?

We all have had doubts in our lives one way or the other.

We have all had questionings in our heads about our faith. Some have asked,

What if Christianity isn’t the truth?

What if there is no life after death as against what you believed?

Sometimes, we make prayers to God and it seems as if there’s some sort of vacation in heaven and answers aren’t coming to those prayers.

We ask ourselves if the course we studied in college was the right course for us, and many more questions.

Doubt is not just a Christian experience, it is a human experience.

It is something we struggle with at different stages of our lives.

What is Doubt?

There is usually a misconception about doubt and unbelief.

People always think that the opposite of faith is doubt which isn’t correct. The opposite of faith is unbelief.

Unbelief is a deliberate refusal to believe.

Doubt is to be indecisive over an issue, hung up between certainties and uncertainties about a matter.

Doubt is not the absence of faith. It is the questioning of faith as you can only doubt what you already believe.

You can also have a strong faith and still have doubt.

Remember the story of John the Baptist?

John the Baptist was the one who bore record of Christ coming. He literally saw the Spirit of God descend from heaven and abode upon Jesus. He was the one that baptized Jesus and this statement from him confirmed that he believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

“That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.” – John 1:34 MSB

This same John who bore record that Jesus is the Son of God was arrested by Herod and John began to have a doubt about Jesus. He sent his two disciples to go meet Jesus and ask him if He was the one they had been anticipating or they should expect another Messiah. Jesus gave John’s disciples the answer to his questions with enough reason why He is the Christ. (Luke 7:19-22).

God is interested in our doubts

As much as he wants us to have faith in him, even if it is as little as a mustard seed, he also wants to hear our honest questions and concerns and answer every single one of them to the level of our understanding.

After Jesus had died and resurrected, he visited his disciples where they were all gathered but Thomas was absent from that meeting.

When he later came to join them, by that time Jesus had left, Thomas did not believe Jesus visited them. Thomas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and he believed in Jesus. What he could not comprehend was Jesus visiting them after he had died.

He wanted to see and experience it for himself. He wanted to see the Lord too. That was an honest expectation.

Jesus came back to clear Thomas’ doubt and showed himself to Thomas.

For every person who approached Jesus with an honest question in the Scripture, He answered them.

In our relationship with God, He wants us to be honest just as we are with spouse or siblings, or parents.

Insomuch as God wants us to grow and mature in Him, he doesn’t want to neglect our questions because the more evidence we have for our belief, the more strongly we will believe it.

In handling doubts…

From God’s word, we understand that the devil does not mean us well. His plans are to steal, kill and destroy and he can even use our doubts to take us far away from God if not handled correctly. How do you then handle these doubts to increase your faith in God?

1. Find the root of your doubt. There is a need for you to identify where the doubt is coming from and identifying it might need you to do some deep self-examination to be sure you are not hiding the real issue.
2. Ask God and others for help. Be open and honest with God. He is deeply interested in every single detail about you. Ask him to lead you to wisdom to help you get the answers. This particular one has worked for me. Sometimes, I find my answers from conversations I have with people or from a preacher’s mouth while listening to their message. Let God be our first point of call and not our last resort. Ask other Christians for help too. We should honestly admit our struggles and shortcomings with the people we share the same faith with and pray for each other.
3. Take care of your spiritual health. Spiritual habits like reading God’s word, praying, fellowshipping with other believers, and sharing God’s word with others can help strengthen our faith in God and cause a grow in our Spirit life.

Understanding that Jesus loves us, of which he demonstrated on the cross of calvary, should give us this confidence to approach him freely with our questions and also with an open mind ready to learn and obey.

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