Doubt is uncertainty about something. To doubt is to be undecided in opinion or belief. Doubt can be a hesitance to believe or the consideration that something is questionable or unlikely.
We must not doubt God. This is certain. The New Testament reflects multiple times where doubt in God is spoken against by Jesus himself as well as Paul and James. We are told to not doubt God or what He can do. We are told to have faith in God and what we may accomplish through God without doubting. Doubt lessens our faith and a lessened faith in God is obviously something that we want to avoid.
Jesus, while walking on the water and saving Peter from drowning, asked Peter why he doubted. It was obvious that while Peter had the faith to step out of the boat, at some point he began to doubt that it could really be happening. The problem was that he was unbelieving of what he was doing and forgetting that it was God who was making the act possible.
Jesus told his disciples that with faith, they could move mountains into the sea – as long as they did not doubt. He emphasized a faith in God who would work through them if they allowed Him to.
James covers the topic of faith and doubt, reminding us that if we ask God for wisdom, we must not doubt that He will do so. What good is asking if we doubt it will happen? That’s not to say God will give us whatever we ask for, but He will give us what we ask for if falls within His will – such as wisdom. But asking for that wisdom with a lack of faith is pointless.
No, we should never doubt God.
When it comes to doubt though, sometimes it may be mislabeled or misunderstood and therefore becomes a senseless guilt trap. In the Bible, we see over and over the instructions and examples to not doubt God. Why? Because He is perfect. He will not fail us. He will do no wrong. It’s downright silly to doubt God. But what about other people? What about ourselves?
Sometimes doubt in other people or ourselves can be misconstrued and make us believe that we’re doubting God. From that comes the senseless guilt. We might tell ourselves to stop doubting a person or a situation because doubt is not good. We might say that doubt is not of God. Unfortunately, people, unlike God, are not always dependable. People are not perfect. People will let us down at some point or another. Is it wrong to question others’ motives or actions? Is it wrong to hesitate before trusting another person?
Doubting that I may accomplish the leap across the puddle may save me from a knee-deep muddy bath. Doubting my neighbor’s motives may save me from going to their party and putting myself in a bad situation. Is doubt in and of itself something to be completely disregarded?
Take my second example of the party. Now perhaps I feel that God is leading me to go to that party so that I can be a witness. That’s a pure motive and if I truly believe God is leading me, then I should trust Him to keep me safe. But even then, I’m trusting Him – not the people with whom I will be socializing. I don’t think God expects anyone to walk into situations blind or naïve, expecting automatic physical protection, especially if it is their own foolishness that has led them there in the first place. Yes, God is perfectly capable of keeping us safe, but sometimes He does allow bad to happen, and had we been paying closer attention and listening to our doubts about the people or the situation, we might have spared ourselves some of those trials.
What about doubting ourselves? Some people might say to never doubt yourself. To follow your heart. To trust yourself because your are intelligent. Well…I may be intelligent, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t made mistakes. My heart has betrayed me. My trust in myself has misled me. Why? Because I’m human and humans aren’t perfect. Emotions can cloud judgment and even blur our sight to God if we allow them to. Our human desires may drives us in a direction that feels good, when in reality it’s not what God had intended. Our hearts may long for something so much that we put our trust in that feeling, when sometimes it may be the opposite of what God is trying to tell us.
Am I saying to doubt everyone or to always doubt ourselves? By no means! I don’t think God intends for us to walk around constantly doubting everyone and being scared to make a move. But I do believe that God can use our doubts in order to make us stop and think sometimes.
Without doubt in people or situations, we could wind up blindly walking into danger. It is not a doubt in God’s care. It is translating doubt into caution or hesitance, allowing us the time to see with clarity. Sometimes we may feel that caution or hesitance label it as sinful doubt, when in reality, it’s a warning God is sending us.
The bottom line is this – we are told not to doubt God or His power. He is perfect, all-knowing and the very essence of love. Doubting Him is pointless. However, humans are not perfect, not all-knowing, and not always loving. Doubting people, situations or our own decisions may simply be the kind of hesitance we need to stop, sit back and think about exactly what we’re doing. We may decide that the doubt isn’t needed and proceed. Or we may decide that it kept us from doing something stupid.
Don’t walk through life fearing and doubting everything and everyone. But don’t guilt yourself for feelings of doubt either. Love others. Honor others. Trust those you know you can. But always, always trust God above all else. Don’t doubt Him. But don’t disregard the feelings He sends you either.