Have you ever had one of those earth-shattering moments where you experience something that makes you doubt everything you believe? Maybe you’re less extreme than me, but you’ve experienced the helplessness of doubting yourself, or something you believe in?

Now add into the mix that the Bible tells us not to doubt, and it feels like we suddenly have a big problem.

My first piece of advice: don’t panic! There are different kinds of doubts, and maybe yours is one of the minor kind where you are just realising you need to learn something new. Could your doubt be God’s way of pointing you in the right direction? 

Maybe you are being pushed to think differently, or there’s an experience coming your way that wouldn’t happen unless you were going through this now.

Even Jesus had to learn some things, so we definitely aren’t meant to know everything, and learning new things seems to be an important part of the Christian experience! 

“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8, NASB20)

“Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the favour of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40, NASB20)

And we can benefit from a little “healthy doubt” too: “One who is [on] the path of life follows instruction, But one who ignores a rebuke goes astray.” (Proverbs 10:17, NASB20)

“My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His rebuke, For whom the LORD loves He disciplines, [Just] as a father [disciplines] the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11–12, NASB20)

So, a little “doubt” now and then is ok! Sometimes you might learn something new through it! Even if it turns out you were right all along and your doubt wasn’t grounded in anything real, you might have learned a new way to explain something to someone else!

But what about the other kind of doubt … that all-encompassing feeling that you have got one of the fundamentals wrong. Or maybe you’ve just got a nagging feeling in the back of your mind, deep down in your heart? This is another kind of doubt that can be harder to shake off.

These serious doubts can be caused by lots of things. Maybe you’ve heard something about the Bible that made you question it. Maybe a person close to you is experiencing some serious hardship and you can’t understand why it’s happening. Maybe your season of doubt has been going on for months and it hasn’t gone away like you thought it would…

As someone who has experienced seasons of doubt in the past, allow me to share some of my secrets with you:

Share your doubts with a close friend. Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had have been when I’m having doubts about something and I bring it to a friend or two. You would be surprised to find out how many people actually do think deeply about similar things, or have a different perspective that could help you see things differently!

Pray about it. I know this seems like cliché advice, but being a Christian is about being part of God’s family, and family should be able to talk about things! If you honestly seek God in prayer, the Bible tells us that God rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Forget about it. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but sometimes I’ve had doubts that turned out to be a little less important when I turned my focus to the bigger picture. I’ve always found that doing a bit of manual work or exercise, or helping a friend, has always cleared my head and given me more perspective. Sometimes it turns out our doubts aren’t actually as important as we initially assume when we’re in panic-mode.

Study. This is one that a lot of people don’t want to hear, or feel intimidated about where to begin. But ‘study’ can mean as little as simply picking up your Bible and opening to a random chapter or book and just start reading. So many times I’ve gone to God’s word with a question and by the time I close the book it feels like God has personally answered me. In this modern age there are also YouTube videos, and online Bible search tools like Blue Letter Bible … Get out there and get excited about the Bible!

Meditate on it. A little quiet time to self-reflect on your doubt can be really helpful. Why are you feeling this doubt? Is it emotional or intellectual? Is there a specific event that caused your doubt? Maybe you’ve been idle for too long and your doubt is actually trying to get you to do something important?

Now that I’ve shared my secrets with you, get out there and conquer your doubts! It might happen quickly, or it might take a while, but trust God and you will make it through. An important reason for you to conquer your doubts is so that you can learn something new, and maybe one day you will be able to help someone else who is having a doubt?

One last thing to remember is that God has never given us a concrete reason to doubt Him personally. Everything God has said or done has proven His character, and He always keeps His word. Jesus has never failed us either. Ultimately, all our doubts don’t change the fact that God and His son Jesus are trustworthy, and they are looking out for our best interests.