The 5 Letter Word D-O-U-B-T

Doubt. I do not like that word very much. I do not like to hear it and more than that, I do not like to experience it. Doubt is not a fun feeling.
As humans, we doubt a lot. We doubt if people will stick around in our lives. We doubt ourselves in performing certain functions. We doubt if we will be a good husband/wife, friend, father/mother, sister/brother. We doubt our capabilities. We doubt if others will let us down. We doubt if God will let us down. We doubt if God is even really there. If He really cares. If He really loves us like He says He does. We doubt His creativity. And we even doubt if He really exists.

We may question. We may lack certainty. But God never doubts. He never wonders if He exists, or if I am saved, or if everything will turn out alright. So in the midst of my own doubt, I can rest assured that God has the answers. I may waver in my faith, but my belief in God does not determine His existence. God remains faithful even when I am faithless. Sometimes I pray “God, I do not believe you right now,” but the statement in itself acknowledges that He is already there and that He is listening. How silly is that?

If I have childlike faith, I can press on through doubt...

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”  Matthew 18:3-4.

I’ve never seen a child turn to his parent and say, “You know, Dad, it’s altogether possible you’re a figment of my imagination. Perhaps I’ve constructed you to bring me comfort and explain the universe."

Childlike faith acknowledges reality regardless of reasoned doubt. The disciples practiced childlike faith after Jesus resurrected from the dead. After the journey to Emmaus in Luke 24, Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, and they believed. Later, around a campfire, Jesus came to breakfast. His disciples did not say, “You are not here; we saw you die.” They saw the risen Lord, and they believed. Even Thomas, known for his doubt, believed once he saw Jesus face to face. Doubting the existence of someone who stands before you is not possible.

God has proven Himself real to me time and time again, and yet sometimes, doubt will still creep up in my mind. But the key to remembering God's realness, is to simply remember that He does not doubt Himself. He does not doubt His love for you. He knows He exists. He knows He created you. No matter how much we may doubt, He never does. He stands at the door and knocks. “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelation 3:20. He waits at the door, even in our doubt. He waits for us to open the door, but He never stops knocking. He never stops loving us. I just need to look beside me at the Lord who has been there all along, and will remain in spite of all my questions. I just need my skepticism to fade for a moment and, like a child, say, “Oh, hello. For a moment, I forgot you were there.”