When Doubt Creeps In: Holding Onto Faith in Uncertain Times

🌌 When Doubt Creeps In: Holding Onto Faith in Uncertain Times

I never thought I’d say it out loud, but here it is: I’ve doubted God.

Not in the casual, fleeting way of wondering if He’s listening, but in the deep, unsettling way of questioning if He’s even there. For a long time, I kept those thoughts locked up. I was ashamed. After all, aren’t Christians supposed to be certain, unwavering, strong in faith?

But doubt doesn’t politely knock—it sneaks in. It shows up in the midnight questions, in the “why” that follows tragedy, in the silence when prayers go unanswered.

If you’ve ever wrestled with doubt, I want you to know: you’re not alone. I’ve been there. And I discovered that doubt isn’t the end of faith—it can be the doorway to a deeper one.

😔 Why Doubt Shows Up

Doubt often springs from places of pain or uncertainty. For me, it came when life didn’t line up with what I thought God had promised.

Here are some common sources of doubt I’ve seen in my own life and others:

1. Unanswered prayers. When God seems silent, questions get loud.
2. Personal suffering. Pain makes us wonder if God is really good.
3. Intellectual questions. Science, philosophy, or skeptical voices can shake us.
4. Hypocrisy in the church. When Christians act unlike Christ, it’s confusing.

Even John the Baptist—the one who baptized Jesus!—wrestled with doubt. From prison, he sent messengers asking Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3).

If John could question, maybe doubt doesn’t disqualify us—it just means we’re human.

📖 Scriptures That Met Me in Doubt

Here are verses that steadied me when questions swirled:

• Mark 9:24
  “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
  This desperate prayer became mine. God doesn’t reject honesty.
• Jude 1:22
  “Be merciful to those who doubt.”
  If God commands us to show mercy to doubters, surely He shows it Himself.
• Psalm 73:26
  “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
  Even when faith faltered, God’s strength carried me.
• 2 Timothy 2:13
  “If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
  My doubt didn’t cancel God’s faithfulness.

🌊 My Story of Wrestling With Doubt

There was a season when a prayer I had begged God for went unanswered. I was angry, confused, and heartbroken. My faith felt shaky.

One night, instead of pretending, I prayed bluntly: “Lord, I don’t even know if You’re real right now. But if You are, show me.”

That prayer didn’t get answered with lightning bolts or visions. Instead, in the weeks that followed, I noticed small glimpses: a verse popping up in unexpected places, a friend’s encouragement at just the right time, a peace that didn’t make sense.

God didn’t shame me for doubting. He gently reminded me He was still there.

🛑 Lies I Believed in Doubt

Looking back, I can see the lies that fueled my doubt:

• “Real Christians never doubt.” Truth: Every biblical hero wrestled with questions.
• “God is angry at my doubt.” Truth: God welcomes honesty and uses it to grow us.
• “Doubt means my faith is gone.” Truth: Faith and doubt can coexist—and faith can grow stronger through wrestling.

✝️ What Jesus Taught Me in My Doubt

When Thomas doubted the resurrection, Jesus didn’t scold him. He showed him His scars (John 20:27).

That story changed how I viewed my own doubts. Jesus isn’t offended by questions. He invites us to bring them to Him. Sometimes He shows us answers. Other times, He shows us Himself.

🌟 How I Learned to Hold Onto Faith

Here are practices that helped me navigate doubt:

1. Praying honest prayers. I stopped pretending and started praying my questions.
2. Leaning on community. Talking with trusted believers gave me perspective.
3. Reading stories of doubters in Scripture. From Job to Jeremiah, I saw I wasn’t alone.
4. Remembering past encounters. Looking back on times I knew God was real steadied me.
5. Choosing trust daily. Sometimes faith is less about certainty and more about choosing trust one step at a time.

🌅 A Turning Point

My breakthrough came not when all my questions were answered, but when I realized I didn’t need all the answers to trust God.

Faith isn’t the absence of doubt—it’s choosing to lean on God in the middle of it. Like Peter stepping onto the waves, I wobbled. But I also discovered the hand of Jesus, steady and strong, pulling me back up.

🙏 A Word to You

If you’re doubting right now, hear me: you’re not broken. You’re not disqualified. You’re not abandoned.

Bring your questions honestly to God. He is big enough to handle them. And often, in the very act of wrestling, your faith will grow deeper than it ever was before.

🙏 A Prayer for the Doubting

“Father, for the one wrestling with questions, give them courage to bring their doubts to You. Remind them that You are faithful even when they feel faithless. Show them glimpses of Your presence in their uncertainty, and grow their faith through the wrestling. In Jesus’ name, amen.”