What if I told you that your doubt shouldn’t be an enemy of faith but it should be a fuel for your faith?

We all have doubts in life. And we are all going to have moments where we question what is going on in our lives.

Is this really God’s best plan for my life?
Does God love me?
Has he really forgiven me?
Or the one from the very beginning, did God really say?

Doubt in and of itself isn’t a problem. The problem we have, is how we handle that doubt. There are two different ways to deal with it.

We want to believe we will handle it like the father that came to Jesus to pray for his son where he says in Mark 9:24:

“I believe; help my unbelief.”

But that isn’t always the case because it seems like our doubts are at an all time high when we are at an all time low.
I believe that we can look at the word and see that their are two types of people when it comes to doubt:

Those that allow the doubt to bring separation and those that embrace the doubt and run to God with it.

We can see these examples in the Bible:

DOUBT THAT LED TO SEPARATION

King Saul
Doubt: Saul doubted God’s timing and approval.
Key Moment: When Samuel didn’t arrive quickly, Saul took matters into his own hands and offered a sacrifice unlawfully (1 Samuel 13:8–14).
Outcome: God rejected him as king because he acted out of fear and disobedience.

The Israelites in the Wilderness
Doubt: They doubted God’s power to bring them safely into the Promised Land.
Key Moment: After the spies returned from Canaan, the people were overcome with fear and refused to enter (Numbers 13–14).
Outcome: That generation wandered for 40 years and died in the desert.

King Ahaz
Doubt: Ahaz doubted God’s offer of protection against his enemies.
Key Moment: When God told him to ask for a sign, Ahaz refused out of pride or fear and chose to ally with Assyria instead (Isaiah 7:10–13).
Outcome: His lack of faith led to greater national instability and idolatry.

DOUBT THAT LED TO CLOSER RELATIONSHIP

Thomas (the Apostle)
Doubt: He questioned the resurrection, saying he needed physical proof (John 20:24–29).
Key Moment: When Jesus appeared and invited him to touch His wounds, Thomas responded, “My Lord and my God!”
Outcome: His doubt turned into deep, personal faith and a powerful testimony.

King David
Doubt: David frequently wrestled with doubt during seasons of danger, betrayal, and despair.
Key Moment: In Psalms like Psalm 13 and Psalm 22, he asks hard questions but always returns to trust in God.
Outcome: His doubt deepened his relationship with God and inspired generations of worshippers.

John the Baptist
Doubt: While in prison, John began to question whether Jesus was truly the Messiah.
Key Moment: He sent messengers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come?” (Matthew 11:2–6).
Outcome: Jesus affirmed John’s role and dignity, and John’s honest doubt led to a reaffirmation of Jesus' mission.

We are going to face doubts. It’s not a question of if, its a matter of when. I remember standing in chapel at school one day and just wondering so many things.
“Am I supposed to be doing this?”
“Does God really want me in ministry?”
“Does God love me?”

The key for me in all of that though, is I sought out help to work through these questions, I didn’t sit alone with them. If you are in the midst of some doubts right now, I want you to know that this is a place where you can sit down with Pastor Jason, myself, or one of the other presbytery members.

In order to fully wrestle with the doubts we are going to face in life, we have to identify the why behind the what. We need to realize that even the disciples doubted but they didn’t stay in their doubt. They had the moments of doubts but they moved forward. Are you moving forward or do you feel stuck in your doubt? If you are stuck in your doubt, I would argue that it is because you have identified what you are doubting but you haven’t identified why you are doubting.

Here is a list of possible reasons why you might be doubting:

Circumstances
You may be in a spot of life right now where you hate what is happening in life, or maybe you were there and that is what led to a subtle seed of doubt to enter. But these circumstances have led you to start to think things like, “If God was really as good as he says, he wouldn’t let this happen.” And maybe that’s sent you on a tail spin of doubting who he is or maybe even his existence.

Intellectual Challenge
People can be susceptible to doubt if they don’t know why the believe what they believe. And then you are in a position where you are challenged by someone else’s questions and because you have been taught what I call checklist Christianity, you begin to doubt the foundations of your faith.
Your faith is driven by Emotions
You may realize that your faith is exclusively built upon feelings. You think you are seeking God but really you are seeking the next emotional rush. I have been guilty of this growing up. Then after the spiritual high wears off, you start doubting your faith.

Poor earthly father representation
Maybe you had a poor example of a father. And so this leads you to a place where you are saying “If this is what a earthly father is, I don’t want a heavenly one.”
Personality driven
You may just be a more cynical personality type so you naturally doubt things.

Decision driven
When we sin, and make deliberate decisions to keep sinning, we will further from God. Why? Because sin separates. And we will start to wonder, where is he? Why can’t I feel him? Is he real? The issue isn’t with God though, its with our choice to stubbornly cling to sin.

Do you resonate with any of these? These are some examples of the why behind the what.

Our doubts can’t be defused until they are defined.If we don’t know what is behind our doubt, we may never get to experience the benefits of our doubt.

The strongest faith isn’t a faith that never doubts, it’s a faith that grows through doubts.Your doubt doesn’t disappoint God, it doesn’t define God, it doesn’t define you, it doesn’t deny your faith, and your doubt doesn’t disqualify you.

Stop letting the enemy use your doubt to keep you in a place that he will use to try to separate you from God.

Now that we have seen how doubt can hold us back, let’s talk about how it can lead us forward.

1. Doubt Should Lead to Action

Action helps you over come the doubt. But unchecked doubt can lead you a place of living life out of fear.

Doubt is rooted in fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of not knowing the out come, which is just control, so if you have control issues, it might actually be a fear problem that you haven’t faced.

But there is one specific thing that unchecked doubt will cause. We are seeing this become a bigger and bigger issue in society right now. And that is anxiety.

Doubt fuels anxiety.
When you're uncertain, whether about a decision, your future, your worth, or even your faith, it creates mental instability. That lack of clarity or trust opens the door for what-if thinking, which is a key driver of anxiety:

“What if I fail?”
“What if I made the wrong choice?”
“What if God isn’t listening?”

If we leave our doubts unchecked or not talked about it’s like an atomic bomb of what ifs build up in us waiting for the right time to blow up.

But then we get stuck in a loop because your anxiety begins to increase your doubt.

An anxious mind often overthinks. When you're anxious, even things you were once confident in start to feel shaky. You doubt your abilities, your relationships, and even your beliefs.

Now, it’s not just a matter of doubting the things around you, but you are doubting yourself. And both of these are rooted in fear and control.

At the core of both doubt and anxiety is often a fear of the unknown or a need for control. When you can't control outcomes, anxiety rises. When you don’t feel secure in what’s true or trustworthy, doubt sets in. If you are waiting to to action until you know the outcome, that isn’t faith in God, that’s belief that you control the outcome.

I know a lot of people struggle with anxiety. And the only way to move past the paralyzing nature of anxiety is to take a step.

In James 1:6, it says:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

That imagery, being tossed around, sounds a lot like anxiety. It speaks to how doubt unsettles our soul, especially when it comes to trusting God.

In real life:
Doubt in your abilities can cause performance anxiety.Doubt in your relationships can create relational anxiety.Doubt in your faith can stir spiritual anxiety.

What Helps Break the Cycle:

Clarity through truth (Scripture, wise counsel, or even facts)
Faith over fear—choosing to trust God or a process even when you don’t feel it
Action over indecision—small steps help rebuild confidence

Having your foundation being the truth of the scripture helps you to trust that God is in control, which in turn makes the step less daunting.

If you are doubting something right now, you can either allow your doubt to keep you stationary or you can choose the character of God you have seen through His word, his actions, or others testimony. You aren’t in this alone, Sometimes we need to hold on to the faith of the people around us to take a step of action.

We often think of the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of darkness as a giant field with a fence separating the two. And if we are being honest we have alot of people that are sitting on the fence waiting to see how things play out before they take that step. The only issue though, is that the fence is satan’s too. We either jump in with God or we don’t. Let’s get off the fence, step into what God has for us, and move towards the father.

But how do we make sure that we continue to move out of doubt and into faith? What keeps us moving forward. It’s the fact that with every step we take to grow closer to God, we get a fresh understanding of who is, a brand new revelation of his character.

Doubt should lead to action and it should lead to deeper revelation.

2. Doubt Should lead to Deeper Revelation

When we embrace the doubt we are facing, often times the why behind our doubt is directly confronted by the nature of God. In that moment we will have a greater understanding of who he is. Then this leads to deeper worship, greater testimony, and a more intense love for Him.

Let’s take a look at the most famous doubter of the New Testament, Thomas.

Thomas before the crucifixion was in it with Jesus.

John 11:11-16
After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
We look at that statement by Thomas and see a man that is all in with Jesus. He is ready to do what ever was needed, until he wasn’t.

We go from a man ready to die, to a man that was doubting Jesus even came back to life.

John 20:24-28
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,[d] was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
The thing I notice from the jump here is that Thomas made his request known. It took 8 days for the Lord to finally show Himself to Thomas. And once he saw Jesus, he was right back on board.

But Jesus says something that I think is key to doubt in verse 29.

29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Doubt doesn’t mean that you don’t believe, it’s attacking because you haven’t seen. But doubt doesn’t have to define your belief. You can stand on faith and still chose to believe through your doubt.

God isn’t intimidated by our questions. In fact, He often reveals Himself more clearly when we bring our uncertainties to Him.

Doubt can strip away shallow faith and replace it with firsthand encounter.

Many times, we aren’t doubting God Himself, we’re doubting a distorted version of Him we’ve accepted, like that He must always make us feel good, or that He’ll prevent all pain.

David and other psalmists often wrestle with deep doubt: “Where are You, God?” Yet in that wrestling, they discover that God is faithful, near to the brokenhearted, and present even in silence.

Doubt can refine and correct our understanding of God's character, faithfulness, and ways.

When we take our doubts to God, the doubt invites dependency and intimacy in our relationship with God.

When our strength, logic, or certainty fails us, we’re forced to decide whether to trust God anyway. That kind of trust, faith in the dark, deepens intimacy.

We see this with Job.

Though he doubted God’s fairness and wrestled with deep pain, Job eventually said:
“My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

Doubt led him beyond religion into revelation.

Doubt should be a catalyst for pursuit, not a road block to it.

Instead of settling for secondhand faith, doubt can push you to seek God yourself, through prayer, Scripture, reflection, or wise counsel.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

Doubt can be the starting point of that search.

Doubt isn’t the end of faith—it’s often the refining fire of it.
If we bring our doubt to God rather than use it as a reason to turn away, it can:
deepen our understanding of who He is, purify our faith, and lead to more authentic, resilient belief.

The more authentic we are with God, the more of his character we get to experience.

In all of this with doubt, it relays on one simple and practical step. Go to God.

We see this with John in the book of Revelation. John having been punished was sent to the island of Patmos. And what do we see him doing?

Revelation 1:9-11
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
He was worshipping. Why? Because even though his circumstances were dire, He trusted the character of God over his own doubts or physical pain he might have been enduring.

This simple act of pursuing God turned into what we consider the final book of the Bible.

We cannot let doubt corner us into inaction. Your doubt should be a catalyst to make you take a step towards God.

I don’t know what kind of doubts you’ve brought in the room today. Maybe you’re doubting God’s love, His timing, your calling, or even your worth. Maybe you’re like Thomas—once full of faith, now unsure. Maybe you’re like David—crying out in the dark, hoping someone hears.
But here's the truth: Doubt doesn’t disqualify you, it invites you.

It’s an invitation to take one step closer to the Father. One honest question. One whisper of worship. One confession of fear.

So today, we’re not running from the doubt. We’re not hiding it. We’re bringing it straight to the feet of Jesus.

Like Thomas, we’re saying: “Unless I see… I won’t believe.”
And like Jesus, He’s saying: “Come closer. Touch my hands. See for yourself.”

If you’ve been sitting on the fence—waiting, hesitating, frozen by fear—tonight is your moment to move.

So here’s the invitation:

If you're doubting your worth, come forward and let Him remind you who you are.
If you're doubting His presence, come forward and ask Him to show Himself.
If you're doubting your purpose, come forward and let Him speak again.
The enemy would love for you to sit in silence with your doubt. But Jesus is calling you forward—even through your doubt—into deeper faith.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

How does he want you to respond?