Dealing with Doubt

As we step into a new year, we are kicking off a new series that looks at the certainty of doubt within the Christian life. Doubt is something we all face, and it’s important that we recognize it and work through it in a healthy way.

I don’t know if you’ve ever had someone in your life who you just couldn’t trust anything they said. Growing up, I had a friend like this who would tell us unbelievable things he had supposedly done over the weekend—things so outrageous that even he knew we didn’t believe him.

Doubt is a natural human emotion. It is normal to feel doubt when we hear things that are hard to believe. As we begin this study, it’s important to understand that doubt is not necessarily sinful. Doubt is a feeling, and feelings are indicators.

I love the way author Annie F. Downs puts it: “Our feelings get to ride, but they don’t get to drive.” In other words, our feelings are valid and tell us something about what’s going on inside of us, but they should not be the foundation for the decisions we make in life.

This fundamental question—“Can we really trust God?”—is perhaps the most important question we will ever ask. Because if we can’t trust God, why would we serve Him? If we can’t trust God, why give our lives to His service? But if we can trust God, how could we not live for Him?

From the very beginning, it has been the goal of the enemy to cause humanity to doubt God. In Genesis chapter 3, after God creates the world and places humanity in dominion over it, Satan quickly enters with temptation and doubt.

You’ve likely heard the story: Satan asks Eve why they aren’t allowed to eat from any of the trees. Eve explains that there is only one tree they are forbidden to eat from. Satan’s first tactic is to cause Eve to doubt God’s Word. Then he moves on to tempt her to doubt God’s character.

The devil tells Eve that God doesn’t want her and Adam to be like Him—that the boundary God set is actually holding them back. Of course, Adam and Eve sin, feel shame, and the rest of the story unfolds from there.

From the very first people to you and me today, every one of us will face doubt at some point in our lives. So how do we deal with it?

First, when we face doubt, I want to challenge you to go deeper. Adam and Eve were questioned by the serpent, but they never went to God for answers. They didn’t seek clarity or understanding—they simply took the devil at his word.

When we feel doubt, it should push us deeper into God’s Word and drive us to pray even harder. In Matthew 7:7, Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock. Adam and Eve never asked God for answers.

I think it’s incredibly dangerous that in 2026, so many of us have a TikTok theology. We believe whoever is shouting the loudest or speaking with the most confidence—but we never ask questions or go deeper for ourselves.

This is why having a personal walk with Jesus is so important. So many people’s faith is destroyed because they never develop their own faith. You shouldn’t believe the Bible simply because your parents did or because a pastor or church told you to—you should believe it because you’ve discovered for yourself that it is the Word of God.

When we face doubt, we must choose to go deeper—to ask hard questions, to do the work, and to come to an understanding for ourselves.

Another mistake many people make when they face doubt is allowing themselves to become stuck in shame or isolation. This was true for Adam and Eve, who hid from God because they knew they had messed up.

This is still the devil’s scheme today. He wants to wrap you in shame and convince you that your doubt disqualifies you from having a right relationship with God.

Here’s the powerful truth: God never stopped loving Adam and Eve. Just a few verses later, God promises Eve that her offspring would ultimately defeat the serpent.

The devil wants to trap you in your doubt and convince you that God won’t love you because of it.

I’m reminded of the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The enemy would have loved to keep him stuck in the pit with the pigs. He had doubted his father’s plan. He had lost trust in his father’s goodness. Yet the response of the father is a picture of God’s response to us.

God welcomes us—even in our doubts. God restores us when we are broken. He does not shame us or push us away in fear, but lovingly invites us back into right relationship with Him.