The Cure for Doubt

A recent Barna research release indicates that approximately two-thirds of Christians have or currently face periods of doubt with regard to their faith and relationship with the Lord.  Precedent for dominating doubt goes all the way back to the first century,  One of Jesus’ specially chosen apostles would be forever nick-named “Doubting Thomas” because he refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he could personally see and touch him.

According to church tradition, Thomas overcame his doubts and eventually took the Gospel of Christ to the Indian subcontinent in AD 52, ministering in what are the present-day states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There he baptized the first Christians of that region, founding what is now known as the Mar Thoma Church. 

How should Christians today deal with their doubts?  We no longer have the Lord physically present to reassure our wavering faith and dispel our doubts as did the Apostle Thomas.  But we do have a secure foundation upon which to rest our faith, quell our fears, and satisfy our questions.  And that is the biblical revelation of the character and purposes of God.

The Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonian Christians that God would ensure their establishment in the faith.  Furthermore, He would protect them from the onslaught of attacks from the evil one, designed to disrupt and destroy their faith in the Lord (2 Thess. 3:3).  Similarly, the Apostle Jude, using the same Greek word, assures his readers that God is able to keep them from stumbling in their faith and to eventually present them in a sinless, perfected state on the Day of Resurrection.

Left to our own strength and wills, we would have reason to worry and doubt our ability to follow the Lord to the end of this earthly pilgrimage.  But, thankfully, our long-term spiritual welfare rests upon the promises God has made to His own, not upon our own ability to navigate the temptations and spiritual minefields of this world.  So take heart, Christian, our faithful God will never give up on you.