Question: So I’m Not The Only One Who Struggles With Doubt
thegentleway asked you:
I just read through your Bio and I am so glad/relieved to know that I am not the only Christian struggling with doubts and questions. I’ve been struggling a lot because it seems like everyone have it all together on the outside. I thought perhaps it is because I am being over dramatic, but its so liberating and relieving to know that I am not the only Christian metaphorically (and sometimes literally) dripping sweat, blood and tears with my faith.
I’ll go so far as to say that every single person in the world struggles with doubt. I don’t know if there’s a person who exists who can say, “I have never doubted God for a second,” whether it’s His existence, plan, power, or love. All the great biblical heroes doubted, too. This does not make them bad people, but just human beings. And doubt itself is not a sin, though because some of us feel this way, it leads us to disobedience.
Please allow me the grace to point you to a sermon I preached very recently, where I made the point that faith is a journey and not a light-switch. Faith is a messy journey, and there’s nothing black and white about it.
Since faith itself is a gift from God, and God has given each of us gifts as He has apportioned them by His grace (Ephesians 4:7), I really believe that everyone’s “level of faith” will differ. Just as some have the propensity for partying or laziness or romantic idols, some of us will struggle severely with doubt. It’s what we do with it that matters.
If you cling onto God for dear life with the little bit of faith you have, you’re doing it right. Some days it will feel like you’re barely making it while these “Super-Christians” are constantly 24/7 on fire for Jesus. But serious doubts will naturally necessitate that you must ground yourself on steady ground, which will ensure you not only cover your spiritual bases, but your intellectual and psychological ones too. You cannot afford to follow blindly. So when you’re shaken, it’s not really all that bad, because you know what being shaken is like in your daily experience.
I’m also grateful for those who can open up and just say it like it really is — to say how often they think this whole thing is crazy. I had no idea that this post would attract the attention it did, because I think on some level we all feel that we are tricking people into a faith we do not actually hold. But my dear friend, I exhort you: this is part of life, it’s what makes us human, and it’s okay to have questions and express confusion and doubt Him. God can handle it, and He offers enough grace for you to make it through one more day.
