By Cherry Hoffner
“Be merciful to those who doubt” (Jude 22, ESV).
Why are we to be merciful to doubters? Because everyone has had to deal with doubt about their faith - and that's okay. Doubts aren't something to be afraid of in the Christian life. In fact, they can lead us to a deeper knowledge and understanding of God in the end. And if it didn’t require faith to have faith, we wouldn’t call it “faith;” we would call it “certainty!”
There are many things that can cause us to doubt: maybe our prayers haven’t been answered the way we would like, or we’re burdened heavily by our guilt, or we have forgotten all the good things God did for us in the past, or we let our emotions get the best of us, or perhaps we simply don’t know the God we serve.
As we get to know Christ, we will find that our doubts are turned into faith. Can we really say, “In God we trust,” if we don’t really know who God is? Do we understand that He is both loving and just? Can we grasp both His sovereignty and grace? Do we appreciate His holiness, long-suffering, loving-kindness, joy, faithfulness, and mercy? Do we believe He really loves us--deeply? Just like we grow in our trust of the people in our lives, so we have to build trust in God by getting to know Him, by spending time with Him, and by studying His Word. By doing so, our faith in God will grow and slowly the doubts we battle will be answered in the face of who God is.
So many things cause us to doubt, but one thing leads us to faith—knowing the One who made us. He speaks a gentle word, calms the waves, rebukes the proud, heals the sick, encourages the weary, lifts up the brokenhearted, and gives wisdom and faith to those who ask. As we bring our doubts to God and others, we can trust that the outcome will be a stronger faith.
Take a moment to look through our articles on dealing with doubt. Ask God for the faith to trust in who He is - that is a prayer He will answer - and it's the first step to chasing away your doubts.