When you are not sure you believe it

You have thought something you would not say out loud in church.

Before any of it

You were not left to manage this on your own

Everything here rests on one thing, and it is not your strength. Before Christ went to the cross He promised He would not leave us as orphans, and He sent the Comforter to help us during these difficult times. Not afterwards. During.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:26–27

He is not a reward for coping well. He is not sent once you are strong enough to deserve Him. If you belong to Christ, the everyday Helper is already with you and already in you, and the first move in any hard season is to turn to Him before you turn to a plan.

Doubt

You have thought something you would not say out loud in church. Maybe: none of this is true. Maybe: God is real but He is not listening to me. And now there is a second problem on top of the first, because you feel like a fraud for sitting in the room.

What is true

Doubt brought into the light is not a threat to your faith. Hidden doubt is. The thought you refuse to say is the one that grows.

And you are in company you would not expect. On the cross, Christ Himself cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” If that sentence is in the Bible, yours is allowed to be said out loud.

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’” Mark 9:24

He got what he asked for. Not because his faith was impressive, but because he was honest about where it ran out. That is a prayer God answers.

Much of this is fought in the mind. Thoughts arrive, fears, accusations, arguments, and the instruction is not to sit and turn them over. Recognise the lie, reject it, replace it with what God has actually said, and keep walking. That is not something you do by force of will. It is the Spirit of truth doing it in you as you ask Him to.

What to do with it

Ask the Spirit of truth to show you what is true. A doubt is a question about what is real. He is the one who teaches, and He is not offended by the question.
Say it to God first. Plainly. He is not fragile and He already knows.
Then say it to the right person. Not to just anyone. There is a page on who to tell, further down.
Go back to what you know. Not what you feel today, what you know He did.

Drawn from Spiritual Weapons and Good Friday, taught at Garston Community Church.

If it is something else today

When nothing is happening You prayed, you meant it, and nothing has moved for a year. When you are worn out Not a crisis. Just empty, with nothing left in the tank. When you are the only one The only one in your family, your class, or on your shift.

And when you speak to someone

Who to tell

These pages keep saying tell someone. That does not mean tell anyone. It matters who you take it to, and Scripture qualifies who those people are: of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3).

Look for a brother or sister in Christ who has history with God, a good testimony among the people, and the discretion to keep a confidence. Not a group chat, and not social media.

And if you have nobody and no church at all, you are not outside God’s provision. Christ Himself gave the church, and it is the same Spirit who comforts you who appointed those who shepherd it. Ask Him to lead you to His people, and keep asking.

Who to tell, in full — and what to do if you have no church →