Don't let doubt lead to defeat

Doubt is not the same as unbelief, doubt is questioning what you already believe in whereas unbelief is the refusal to believe. Unfortunately, when people have a doubt they feel like everything they believe in has come crashing down. It is human nature to doubt and often doubts are an opportunity to search for answers and deepen our faith but if we remain in doubt for too long, it begins to weigh us down, leading to despair. I should know this, because I have fallen into this trap before and it brought me much gloom.

Why do we fall prey to doubt?
The passage of Jesus walking on water towards his disciples threw some light on this question. I found it rather significant that the gospel of John mentions that it was dark, even Matthew says it was early morning, a time when the sun hasn't yet risen and visibility is low. It is often when we are going through dark times in our life that we are unable to see things clearly and we do not realize that God is present. It is then that our minds are filled with uncertainty and we are more easily tossed in the wind, not sure what to rely on, just like the disciples were hurled about in the rough sea.

It is only when we keep our focus on the light i.e. Jesus, we begin to see clearly again. He walks over the waters of chaos, bringing back order so that we may not be destroyed by the rough seas. Alone we can do nothing, but keeping our focus on Jesus, we too can triumph over all our doubts and difficulties, just as he invited Peter to do. The fact that Peter, could walk on water as long as he trusted Jesus, shows us what childlike faith can achieve. The minute his focus shifted to the dangers around him, he began to drown and shouted out to Jesus to save him. Jesus reaches out to us and reveals himself to us time and again, never letting us drown in the sea of uncertainty. Let the words of Jesus to Peter, sting you as much as it does for me "You of little faith, why did you doubt?

What must we do when in doubt?
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, he baptized him and testified to him. However, after he was arrested by king Herod, he too began to have doubts and so he asked his disciples to go to Jesus and ask him if he was the one or there was another to come. If you have a doubt about Christ, why not go to him itself? Jesus' reply to John's disciples was simple, he tells them to tell John of all the miracles that he was doing. Why is this significant to John? Well, John knew his scripture well and it would immediately remind him of the prophecy about the Messiah from Isaiah 35:5-6 "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy." He would realize that Jesus has fulfilled this prophecy by healing the blind, deaf, lame and mute. Jesus uses scripture to clear the doubts of John the Baptist and that should also be where we go to clear our doubts. It was in the pages of the Bible where we realize that we are not alone, St Peter, St Thomas and John the Baptist also had doubts, the difference is they continued to seek and as promised they found their answers in Christ.

The problem is when we have doubts but we stop asking questions, stop seeking the truth and stop knocking on the door of our hearts, that we let our doubts destroy our faith. Almost every question that you think is ground breaking has already been answered, by the church, the fathers of the church and biblical scholars through a thorough understanding of scripture, all you need is to keep seeking.