It’s very easy to doubt God, especially when life is not going the way we think it should! Often, we identify with the psalmist who envied the arrogant when he saw the prosperity of the wicked (see Ps 73) or with Habakkuk, who was frankly baffled when God told him that he was going to use a wicked nation to discipline Israel (see Hab 1-2). We feel like John McEnroe when he would rant at umpires, ‘You cannot be serious!’ We wonder if God really knows what He’s doing and easily flounder when we can’t see the end from the beginning.
Doubt is not the same as unbelief, since it usually implies uncertainty rather than a steadfast refusal to believe. Often, it’s linked with apprehension and fear: a sense of ‘what if God doesn’t come through?’ or ‘where is God in all of this?’ Nonetheless, Jesus’s words to Thomas remain a challenge for us all: ‘Stop doubting and believe!’ (Jn 20:27)
I think doubt is up there with worry regarding things I ought to give up permanently, not just for Lent! Giving up doubt is not as easy as it sounds, but there are definite principles we can follow when giving up any wrong learned pattern of thinking and behaving. The first thing is to fix our mind, thoughts and will on God’s word. As we soak ourselves in what God says, over and above what our anxious hearts tell us and over and above what other people may urge us to think, we will have an anchor point that is not easily moved. We have to replace the anxious, doubting thoughts (all those ‘what ifs?’!) with ‘God says’. We focus on God’s promises which are ‘Yes and amen’ in Christ Jesus (see 2 Cor 1:20), so that we have a solid launching point for faith. We ask God for his help, like the father who cried out, ‘I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!’ (Mk 9:24) We choose ultimately to believe God over and above our feelings and our natural sight. (‘It doesn’t matter what I see’, ‘Deliver Me’, Aaron Shust)
