I admit there are times when I’ve had moments of doubting God. Times when the circumstances I was facing appeared so overwhelming to me that I questioned whether God truly cared about me or whether He was powerful enough to help me. Have you ever doubted whether you could really trust God?
You may find it interesting to know that some of God’s mightiest followers also experienced times when they doubted God, times when they put their hope in their understanding of things rather than in the Word of God. God knows that our natural tendency is to live by sight and to lean upon our own understanding, which is what leads to our doubting God. But He longs for and calls us to live by faith in Him and His Word. Faith, according to Hebrews 11, “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
God wants to equip us to overcome our doubts and teach us how to live faithful lives that please Him. In the Bible, His love letter to us, He included many
bible verses about doubting God.
A Lesson from the Garden of Eden | Bible Verse About Doubting God
There are many instances throughout the Bible with verses about doubting God. The lesson from the Garden of Eden, I think, provides a great example of why we might experience doubt in Our Father.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'”
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took off its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:1-7 (ESV)
Did God Actually Say?
Did you notice how the serpent asked Eve a very simple question, “did God actually say?” Yes, a simple question but one that was strategically asked to cause Eve to doubt not only whether God really said what He did but also whether God’s intentions could be trusted.
In fact, Satan, in the form of the serpent, twisted what he knew to be true by continuing his query by positing whether she was and Adam had been told to refrain from eating from any of the trees in the garden. In her response, Eve responded correctly that it was only one specific tree whose fruit God had commanded that they not eat. Still, she embellished that truth by saying they were not allowed to touch the tree as well as eat from it. That one simple question and the twisting of the truth led Eve to wonder whether God was withholding something good from her and Adam. Satan accomplished his goal of getting her to doubt the Word of God and the goodness of God. That is still Satan’s ploy to this day with us.
Stand Strong on the Word of God
The enemy wants us to doubt God’s Word and His character because once we do, we will question one or both of the following truths: that God is Love or that God is all-powerful. When we doubt either of those truths, we will falter in our faith, and ‘without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6-7).
Our purpose in life is to please God, which we do when we live our lives by faith in Him, which leads to our obeying the commands He has given to us for our good. (Isaiah 43:7; Hebrews 11; Deut. 10:13) So when that moment of doubt about God’s Word and His character creeps into your mind, immediately tell yourself, “This thought is NOT from God!” Remind yourself that God is always ‘Faithful and True, and He can never be anything but that! (Revelation 19:11)
Stand firm on the truth of God’s Word. Put your wholehearted trust in Jesus, the One Who is ‘the way, the truth, and the life, because knowing and believing Jesus–Who is Truth– will set you free from the lies of Satan and your own doubts, worries, and anxieties. (John 14:6; 8:32)
You come to know Jesus by:
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Praying and talking to Him daily
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Reading His Word
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Praising Him through music
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Being with other believers
A Daily Reminder for You
When moments of doubt arise, remind yourself those thoughts are from Satan, who wants to do whatever he can to separate you from God. The Source of all Goodness and Life. Remind yourself of God’s past faithfulness in your life, and thank Him for His love and kindness to you. You may want to cry out to Him, ‘Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) Draw near to Him by reading your Bible, a devotional, praying, or reaching out to a mature believer for encouragement. God longs for you to draw near to Him, so you can know His loving, forgiving, compassionate, and merciful heart for you, which will build your trust in Him.
You can stand strong–through Him Who will give you His strength! (Philippians 4:13) You can fight back with the mightiest weapons in the world–the power of His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit! God has given both to you so you can overcome doubt and live a faith-filled, abundant life. You were created to be God’s warrior, and you can defeat Satan’s lies by putting your hope in the unfailing truth of God’s Word and His infallible character!
We created prayer and scripture cards that can easily be carried in your bag that help you to strengthen your prayers to Him. In addition, the ‘Faith Your Fear Prayer & Scripture Cards’ can easily be shared with someone God brings into your path that might need extra encouragement that day. Learn more here.