A believer’s doubt about their faith in Christ has been around since the Apostle Thomas would not accept the resurrection of Jesus. But it’s hard to believe that doubting God was ever at the pervasive level we see today.
Fueled by a cascading cacophony emanating from the bowels of a digital factory, doubt has taken a prominent seat in the minds of Christians everywhere.
And the facts back it up.
Nearly 70% of all Christians face doubt, according to research conducted by the Barna Group in 2017. Millennials currently experience about twice as much doubt as any other generational group. That explains why, at least in part, why the internet is loaded with faith-questioning doubt.
Men are more likely than women to actively experience doubt, but it is not a significant difference. The point is clear…doubt is everywhere in the Christian world.
All of this doubt presents itself with many believers playing a pretend game where the rules say you must hide your doubts. We feel compelled to put up the “everything is great” façade every day when reality is a feeling of inadequacy, if not despair.
That’s too bad because it causes us to think our testimony—both spoken and through our actions—is null and void if we don’t have it wrapped with “perfection.”
What a shame! The opposite is true. People are drawn to authenticity, especially when the basis for it is grounded in reality—like doubt.
It’s ok to say “I don’t know” when someone asks us why there is so much evil in this world. Uncertainty is ok because doubt is not unbelief. In fact, doubt is often a bridge to a sturdier and deeper faith.
I ask God to help me take my doubts to you IMMEDIATELY so they never take up residence in my mind and heart. So they don’t jail my confidence in you. So they never impede my ability to tell others about your love for every person on this planet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
HOW ABOUT YOU?
What would happen if you took your biggest “faith doubt” to God today? Try it and see how your step gets a lift.
“But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind.” James 1:6
