Have you ever had someone doubt you– whether that be your giftings, your character, your intelligence, or anything in between? It’s normal to want validation from others, as it quiets the voice of doubt in our own mind. We believe that we are called and chosen by God, that we have intrinsic value simply because of who we are in Christ, BUT at the same time have unbelief in our hearts. These two statements seem like they can’t co exist. However, judging by Jesus’ reaction to the father in Mark 9:24 who declared, “I believe; help my unbelief,” Jesus is extremely understanding of our doubt. He is not intimidated by our unbelief as long as we present it to Him and invite Him to come into our circumstances. When trying to overcome the voice of doubt from within, we must be humble enough to come before God and say, “I need help. I need YOU God to increase faith and confidence in myself.” This confidence is not founded on our own talents or our own knowledge but it is the kind of confidence that is founded on fully knowing who we are in Christ Jesus.
Imagine how Jesus must have felt knowing that he was the Son of God, the Messiah and Savior of the world. In John 12:37, Jesus performed many miracles in the peoples’ presence, yet they STILL did not believe that He was the Son of God. This occurrence of Jesus performing signs and wonders followed by the disbelief in the people is mentioned quite a bit during Jesus’ 3.5 years of ministry. And you know what? I bet their doubt bothered Jesus. I bet their doubt annoyed Jesus. I also bet that it likely hurt Jesus’ feelings. Why do I believe that? Because Jesus walked the earth as both God and human. He felt the same feelings as us and had the same wants and needs as us, and I believe that the desire to be seen, understood, and believed is a part of being human. Of course, the God element of Jesus overruled the human element of needing the approval of others, as He never let others’ doubt stop him from fulfilling the call of His life.
Now you might be thinking, “How does that help me in my struggles?” Well great news: we have the same Spirit of Christ living on the INSIDE of us, and He’s called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live like how Jesus lived which means when we accept Jesus into our hearts, we have the ability to love like Jesus, resist temptation and sin like Jesus, and also the power to be victorious in every area of lives– including having godly confidence in ourselves. I hope that you invite Jesus into whatever doubtful situation is at hand and ask the Holy Spirit to help you to push past the unbelief that’s plaguing you. I want us to live life like we truly believe, “Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world– 1 John 4:4,” because it’s the truth.
