What if I Have Doubts?

Short Answer Version

Doubts are natural, don't let them intimidate you. If something is true, no amount of doubt can disprove it.

The good news is true, simple, and easy to believe. Jesus loved us so much, He took our place in death on the cross. Believe it, and no doubt can erase the presence of that fact in your heart.

It is OK to start examining your doubts in the light of truth-seeking.

Have fun.

Long Answer Version

Some doubts are normal and worth examining. If you have not yet decided to follow Jesus, you might have certain kinds of doubt, which we will spend most of this section exploring. We will take a look at doubts from a wide variety of perspectives with sensitivity to readers, to help them learn to manage their doubts.

Doubts are not always based on logic or intelligence. Sometimes they are. But more often, they are based on fear, anxiety, depression, and many other uncomfortable mind frames. Emotionally-based doubts require emotionally-based solutions. A good first step would be to give yourself space and time. Consider the positive elements of merely having a choice. Take the pressure off of yourself.

It might surprise you to know that faith and doubt about Jesus can coexist at the same time. According to the Bible (Mark 9:24) it doesn't have to be one or the other. You can say the same prayer as the man in that scripture verse, "I believe, please help me overcome my unbelief."

Be kind to yourself about struggling with doubt. God knows how to build your faith and ease your doubts. Look to God for that, even if you don't know whether He exists.

I have heard many personal accounts of people saying "God, if you're real, then ......." - That is a perfectly sincere and authentic way to start asking God for help. When you either don't believe in Him or don't know what to believe, try the "God if you're real" approach. Nearly every time I heard people say they prayed that way the story ended with something positive happening in their lives.

Even if you have to pray in that manner, it couldn't hurt for you to ask God to give you peace of mind, to strengthen good doubts and remove doubts that could be injurious to you in the long run.

What is a good doubt, and what is a bad doubt? An example of a good doubt is after you do something you know is not good or right, you have a "twinge of conscience". You start to doubt the wisdom of the thing you were doing. An example of a bad doubt is when you are overly skeptical about something that is very good for you.

To doubt a belief in the benevolent, almighty God is usually a bad doubt. It can eventually lead to a bad choice or outcome. This has been borne out in the lives of countless individuals I have known. In a world where people and circumstances often let most of us down, we are almost programmed by it to doubt.

To start overcoming your doubts about Jesus, try to start saying No to that mindset of skepticism and mistrust about Him. Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. Watch out for inner feelings of sarcasm or anger when trying to have faith in Jesus. If you can't break those feelings off yourself, ask God to do so in His special way.

We do need to keep our guards up so we avoid being taken advantage of by unscrupulous people or situations. However, our guards should come down when we determine that it is safe. Jesus is the safest of all.

Be aware that it is easy to fall into the trap of misconstruing something that is not Jesus as being Jesus. For example, when I ask you to believe in Jesus, if you somehow hear that as an invitation to convert your beliefs to Christianity, you are off base. If you hear it as an invitation to do good deeds, read the Bible, go to church, learn Christian jargon, or anything other than to believe in the actual Jesus, you are on the wrong track. These "misdirects" are actually subtle forms of doubt. I'm not saying the things I listed are bad things to do, but just don't confuse them with having faith in the real Jesus.

Will you let your doubts push you around? You don’t have to let them do so. Pray for God’s help to be open-minded about Jesus. Ask Him to soften your heart toward the Savior of the world.

Is My Faith Real?

You might ask, “how do I know if my faith is real”? Jesus addressed this issue when He said that even faith as small as a mustard seed is enough. He was saying that faith is not difficult. You'll know you have real faith for salvation, because there is no such thing as fake faith. There may be misplaced faith, but faith in Jesus is never misplaced.

We all experience faith every day in some way. When it comes to the faith that brings you to Jesus, you even have a special gift to increase your faith according to the Bible. It says we are saved by grace (loving favor we did not deserve), through faith, and that not of ourselves. It is a gift from God."

God gives us a gift of faith to believe in Jesus. None of us can boast about our own high level of saving faith. We are all equally able to believe in Jesus and be saved. God gave you the ability to believe in Jesus. Your faith was a free gift from God. How could you stop that kind of faith from being real?

You might have heard the old adage, "Some people say I'll believe it when I see it, but with Jesus you'll see it when you believe it."When it comes to becoming saved, believing means to have "an assurance of things not seen". Therefore, it is simply impossible to wait until after you have already seen it to believe. The other old adage "Seeing is believing" is also impossible because once you see, you can still choose not to believe.

If you go see a show by a talented illusionist, you will see things you thought were impossible. But, because it is a magic show, you can choose not to believe even what your eyes tell you. If you have not read the section of this site entitled "What Does it Mean to Believe?", and you need more understanding about what I am saying here, please read it.

Doubts can come from unrealistic expectations that result in disappointment. For example, if you thought that your life would suddenly be problem-free because you are saved by Jesus, and then big problems come, you could get disappointed and doubt Jesus. In your faith, try to leave room for things not turning out according to your expectations.

When Doubt Jumps to Conclusions

Be patient. You might be like a person who doubts because they lack the patience to wait for God to do something. God does not revolve his actions around your timetable. He takes His own sweet time. Don’t get set up for disappointment, that can lead to doubt based on an unrealistic expectation that your prayers will always be answered quickly, or in the way you imagined.

If you still have nagging doubts after applying the information above, it is time to ask yourself and God where those doubts are coming from. If a doubt is coming from a lie, then it shouldn’t be entertained. If it is coming from a someone who wishes you ill, it is not real. If it is coming from an emotion related to some identifiable circumstance, change your focus from the doubt to the circumstance and ask God to help you process it. Do so in prayer as you experience His presence.

All of the examples I just mentioned could either be naturally based or could come from a force that is intent on deceiving you into doubting. If that sounds a little far-fetched at this point, then wait until you are more knowledgeable and mature in your relationship with Jesus to tackle it. As you grow, you will learn you have been given authority over all the powers of darkness when you speak against them on His behalf. For now, realize that you have full authority over your thoughts, and can train yourself to think in a better way. An example of controlling your thoughts in this way is when you live with a "parental" voice that stems from the things your mother or father would often say when you were little. As an adult, sometimes we need to know when not to listen to messages spoken with the assumption a child is the recipient.

If faith is something we all have and can exercise at will, is it even possible to lose your faith? That is a question you’ll never have to worry about. The answer is “No”, you can’t lose your faith. You can only choose not to exercise it. Even if you do so, you do not lose your chance or ability to exercise it in the future. Feeling like you've lost your faith does not disqualify you from heaven. You can exercise it again at any time you wish.

There is no rule that says how often or for how long to exercise faith in Jesus as a condition of being saved. It doesn’t work like that. Faith is your “friend”. There is never a good or right reason to abandon it, no matter how we feel.

About the Next Pages

This section on Doubts was written under the assumption that the reader has already seen and understood the topic "Why Should I Believe in Jesus". If that is not true of you, I recommend you read it before going on.

Hopefully the "Why" topic and this first page of the Doubts section has helped alleviate your doubts, and strengthened your faith to the point where you can believe in Jesus as your Savior. If that is the case, it has done its job, and the rest of the "Doubts" pages will probably not be as helpful at this point.

If you do decide to continue reading or come back later to read the rest, please understand that each coming page is intended to delve more deeply and confront more difficult doubts to a great extent. Some readers might find it their "cup of tea". To others, not so much. I'm being sensitive to let readers know this up front, so they avoid feeling bogged down by the contents.