Pushing Past Doubt

d12.19Most of us like to SEE God at work. I know I do. In fact, I feel so reassured, loved, and reaffirmed in my faith, when I can see God working. When I see His handiwork plain and clear. When I see prayers answered. Maybe you do too.

So in those times when we can’t see God working, and don’t feel like He sees us or our problems, we can begin to be filled with doubts. Just like my little niece doubted His Presence, which I shared about in today’s Proverbs 31 Devotion, “Is Jesus Just Pretend?”.

The truth is, we never want to admit we have doubts. Yet although doubt is something that can separate us from Christ at times, and make us wonder if He really is watching over us, it can also be a vehicle to stronger faith. Most of us wouldn’t want to admit we have doubts about our faith or about God, but it’s not necessarily something we have to run from or feel guilty about, but something to look squarely in the face and pray to God about it. Because if we ignore our doubt, it could take root.

Let’s face it, doubt is simply a part of being a Christian, regardless of how strong our faith is or how old we are. Why? Because we cant always see God at work, the way we want to see Him at work. He may not be answering our prayers the way we want, so we wonder if He really heard them. He may not be protecting us from harm or illness, so we wonder if He really cares. He may not be pulling us out of the pit we are in, so we wonder if He really sees us.

It’s normal to sometimes secretly doubt Gods sovereignty when things are not going our way, especially since we can’t SEE Him with our physical eyes. But understanding that we can overcome that doubt through a total dependence on God is what will lead us closer to Him. We can’t give up on ourselves or our faith simply because we feel like we’re are standing at the edge of the doubting cliff and ready to fall off, wondering if He really has things under control or not. Those feelings are a simply a reminder of why we have to believe to see, and not the other way around.

I recommended in my devotion to do a timeline graph of your own (which I did several years ago and share about in my new book Your Life Still Counts) where I had a revelation moment upon seeing in black and white how God had been orchestrating events over my entire lifetime. If you’d like to do your own timeline graph, visit my FREE RESOURCES page and download the graphs. Pick one that seems easiest to work with for you. You can do a timeline of your whole life, or a particular decade or season of life. You can also make your own graph on a large piece of paper (Specific tips and details on how to do this are also found in the book).

If you take the time to look for God’s steps along side yours as you’ve walked through this thing called life, I feel confident that in time, you will be blown away to learn that Jesus really isn’t pretend. He is alive and at work, longing for us to see Him, but to also believe even when we don’t.

Do you have a personal experience or suggestion about dealing with doubt in your relationship with Christ, that might encourage the rest of us? Have you ever looked back and seen how God had worked in a miraculous way, or series of events? 

A photo of me and my “little” brother, and my niece Berkeley. 

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** Purchase Your Life Still Counts by December 30th and get a signed copy, plus all the free gifts. Free gifts will no longer be available after December 30th, 2014.** 

Check out yesterday’s post to enter to win a signed copy of Your Life Still Counts and some great Christmas gift ideas!

 

1 Comment

  1. Caitlynn on Friday, December 19, 2014 at 11:15 am

    Hope in the Lord. Not in yourself. It works.



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Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.

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