Have you ever lost faith in something you had previously trusted? For example, I lead the tech team in the sound booth and part of my job is to train new volunteers on how to run slides. The task is usually straightforward: click the slide just before it’s asked for, so the process is seamless.

This usually goes smoothly, until they click the wrong slide or the next slide is wrong. Then, they lose all faith in it and hesitate to make the clicks.

This happens in life too. At some point, most (if not all) Christians will experience doubt. It might not be doubting God’s existence, but rather His plans, His love, or His availability.

Doubt isn’t always a bad thing. Sure, it’s not ideal, but when we overcome it, our faith is strengthened. Faith and doubt are two sides of the same coin, faith is so powerful because doubt does exist. Our faith is then made stronger when we overcome these seasons of doubt.

It’s easy to get discouraged when we experience doubt, when we walk through a season of hurt, or when we pray prayers that seemingly go unanswered. In these seasons, we may feel like our faith is not real, that our walk was not strong enough or that our hours have been wasted.

If you are struggling with a season of doubt, you are in good company:

  1. Abraham doubted God’s promise of a son.
  2. Moses doubted God’s ability to help him lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
  3. Gideon doubted God’s promise of victory.
  4. Peter doubted Jesus was who He said He was when He was captured.
  5. Thomas doubted the resurrection.

All these men struggled with doubt at one time or another, however, they have more than just that in common. Each one of them overcame their doubt, their faith was made stronger and they found favor with God because of their renewed faith.

A season of doubt is an opportunity to exercise faith. Faith is like a muscle, it can be strengthened by exercising it. Faith is not trusting that God will do what you expect, it’s trusting in God even when He doesn’t do what you expect.

How do you practically do this?

  1. Pray:
    1. Prayer is you talking to God. It is a powerful source of strength and guidance. Through prayer, you can ask for God’s comfort and strength during times of uncertainty and can gain peace of mind.
  2. Scripture:
    1. Study the Bible. This is God talking to you. Reading and studying scripture can provide a great source of reassurance and strength. The Bible is filled with powerful stories and history that remind us of God’s love, grace, and mercy.
  3. Praise:
    1. This is you praising God even when you don’t feel like it. Worship is a powerful source for overcoming doubt. When we worship, we are reminded of God’s love and grace, it can restore our sense of peace and hope. It can also help us refocus our attention on God, this forces us to focus on Him as our source of strength and comfort during difficult times.
  4. Community:
    1. Talking to other believers can provide you with a great source of support and encouragement. They can provide insight into their own struggles with doubt and fear and can help you to see the situation from a different perspective.
  5. Action:
    1. James says “Faith without action is dead.” It’s not enough to simply say you have faith, you must take action toward strengthening that faith. Take small steps towards a positive change, this can help to restore a sense of control and can help you to make progress towards your goals.

Remember, doubt and fear don’t have to be overwhelming. With God’s help, you can overcome them and your faith will be strengthened because of it. Embracing faith and trusting in God’s goodness will strengthen you and grow you closer to God.

Jeff Evans
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