How to Deal with Doubt

When Doubt Becomes a Doorway: Finding Faith in the Questions

Have you ever stood at the edge of belief, wondering if your faith was strong enough? Perhaps you've wrestled with questions in the quiet hours of the night, afraid to voice them aloud in a church full of seemingly certain believers. If so, you're in good company—better company than you might imagine.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Doubt
Here's something that might surprise you: doubt is normal. Not just normal, but potentially transformative. The philosopher René Descartes once said, "If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."

This isn't permission to abandon faith, but rather an invitation to examine it, test it, and ultimately strengthen it. Doubt isn't the opposite of faith—it's often the pathway to deeper faith. The question isn't whether you'll experience doubt, but what you'll do with it when it arrives.

Biblical Heroes Who Questioned God
Scripture is filled with people who doubted, even after witnessing God's power firsthand. Consider Gideon, mentioned in Hebrews 11's "hall of faith." When God called him to lead Israel against their enemies, an angel appeared and made fire spring from a rock to prove God's presence. You'd think that would settle things, right?

Yet the very next day, when God told Gideon to destroy his father's idols, Gideon was too afraid to do it during daylight. He waited until night, despite God's explicit promise: "You shall not die." Even after witnessing a miracle, fear and doubt crept in.

Then Gideon asked for more signs. He placed wool on the ground and asked God to make it wet with dew while keeping the ground dry. God obliged. But Gideon still wasn't convinced—he asked for the miracle to be reversed the next night. God, in His patience, granted this request too.

Or think about Peter, who declared he would die before denying Jesus. Yet when the moment came, he denied knowing Christ three times, exactly as Jesus had predicted. Thomas refused to believe in the resurrection until he could physically touch Jesus' wounds. Moses doubted God's plan. Abraham and Zechariah doubted God's promise of children.

These weren't weak people. They were chosen servants who walked closely with God. Yet they doubted. And God didn't abandon them—He worked through their doubts to strengthen their faith.

What Causes Us to Doubt?
Recent research reveals fascinating insights into why people struggle with faith. For active Christians, the number one cause of doubt is human suffering. Why do bad things happen to good people? It's a question that has echoed through the ages, shaking the foundations of belief for countless seekers.

But here's what's truly striking: the second-highest cause of doubt for believers—nearly equal to human suffering—is the hypocrisy of other Christians. For non-practicing Christians and those of other faiths or no faith at all, hypocrisy ranks as the number one barrier to belief.

Think about that. People outside the faith have an easier time accepting the resurrection of Jesus—the miraculous claim that God's Son died and rose from the dead—than they do accepting that Christians actually live according to their professed beliefs. The greatest obstacle to faith isn't the supernatural; it's the conduct of those who claim to follow Christ.

Other common causes of doubt include unanswered questions, the belief that one religion can't have all the answers, and apparent conflicts with science. Interestingly, even the scientific community experiences its own version of faith debates—particularly around concepts like dark matter, which many scientists believe exists despite being unable to see or prove it. Sound familiar?

The Silent Killer: Sin and Shame
There's another cause of doubt that doesn't always make the research lists but appears frequently in pastoral conversations: sin. Many believers question their salvation because they continue to struggle with sin. The logic seems sound: "If I truly believed in Jesus, why do I keep doing things I know I shouldn't do?"

This is where understanding the difference between conviction and shame becomes crucial. God convicts us of sin to help us grow and become more Christ-like. That's healthy and necessary. But Satan shames us, telling us we're not good enough for God, that we've failed too many times, that our salvation is in jeopardy.

God does not shame you. He does not beat you down. There is an enemy actively working to discourage you, to fill your mind with lies the moment you stumble. Don't confuse his voice with God's.

The Dangerous Response to Doubt
When people begin doubting their faith, a troubling pattern emerges. Research shows that 45% of people struggling with faith stop attending church. Among active Christians facing doubt, 36% leave their church, 30% stop reading the Bible, 29% quit praying, and 25% stop talking to family and friends about their faith.

Can you see the problem? How does avoiding the very thing you're struggling with bring you any closer to understanding it? It's like a chef who burns a dish and then abandons the kitchen forever. Growth comes from leaning in, not pulling away.

When you disengage from church, stop reading Scripture, and cease praying, you silence the voices that can help you and amplify the one voice that wants to destroy you. Satan will whisper his lies unchallenged, asking the same question he posed to Eve in the garden: "Did God really say that?"

The Path Through Doubt
Here's the encouraging news: 95% of people who are active in their faith say their time of doubt ultimately made them stronger. By contrast, only 34% of non-active believers found their doubt strengthening. The correlation is clear—staying engaged with your faith community, continuing in Scripture, and maintaining prayer are essential to moving through doubt toward deeper faith.

James 1:5 offers this promise: If you lack wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach. God isn't offended by your questions. He invites them. He wants you to come to Him with your doubts, your confusion, your struggles.

The Bible contains everything you need for salvation, for godly living, and for knowing God. This is called the "sufficiency of Scripture." You don't have to search the heavens or descend into the depths to find truth—it's right here, accessible and clear.

The Unshakable Promise
Romans 10:9-10 offers words of absolute assurance: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

Later in that same chapter, Paul writes: "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame...For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

There's no wiggle room there. No asterisks. No exceptions. If you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to die for your sins, that His blood has washed you clean, that He rose on the third day and will return again—you have the full assurance of salvation.

A Call to the Strong
If you find yourself secure in your faith, rejoice—but recognize that your journey isn't over. You have work to do. Most people in times of doubt turn to family and friends (40%), not to pastors (18%) or even the church (22%). They're coming to you.

And remember: the number one reason people cite for doubting faith is hypocrisy. If you profess belief, live it out. Your witness matters more than you know. People judge Christ based on the behavior of those who claim to follow Him.

Bear one another's burdens. Fight for each soul with love, kindness, and genuine help—not for your own sake, but for your brother's. By your words you will be saved, and by your words you will be condemned.

The Blessing of Doubt
Doubt doesn't have to be the end of faith—it can be the beginning of something deeper. Like a seed that must break open in the darkness before it can grow, doubt can crack open our comfortable assumptions and allow true, tested faith to take root.

So if you're doubting today, don't run from it. Don't hide it. Bring it into the light. Ask your questions. Seek answers. Stay in community. Keep reading Scripture. Continue praying. Let doubt become not a dead end, but a doorway to faith that can withstand any storm.

Because blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed—and blessed too are those who have doubted, questioned, and found their way back to unshakable truth.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Dave