Doubt

Do you ever find yourself questioning your faith in God? When life is chaotic or when something tragic happens around you or to you, do you wonder where He is? Perhaps it is when another believer has a moral failing or wrongs you that you question the validity of it all.


Doubt strikes me when I'm busy. When my job demands much of my time and there is little time left for things other than my family, that is when the seeds of doubt are sown into my thoughts. Usually it will strike late in the day when I'm behind the wheel moving from one job to the next. I'll be deep in thought and then the question creeps in, "Is there really a God, or is Christianity just a construct of man?"


This question bothered me when I was younger because I thought that a true Christian wouldn't struggle with faith in God. I incorrectly believed that I was the only one wrestling with these thoughts. The realization that other believers, particularly those I look up to, have struggled with these doubts at times too was an encouragement to me (not that I'm glad they struggle!).


Why do believers sometimes struggle with belief? This seems like an strange question but I think it has a pretty simple answer. We struggle when we either lack understanding of who God is or allow the focus of our attention to be distracted from eternal matters to the temporal (Col. 3:1-2). The spirit of doubt invades my life when I'm busy, tired, and focused only on what I'm doing at the time. The enemy strikes when and where we are weak. When I find myself considering God's existence, I know that I am in a weakened, self-absorbed state; ripe for the enemy to create confusion in my mind (I Peter 5:8). These doubts are a wake up call for me, kind of like driving past a sign that says you're on a road heading the opposite direction you intended to travel.