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| Volume 26 Number 1 January 2024 |
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| Volume 26 Number 1 January 2024 |
Page 2 |
Louis Rushmore, Editor
Unconditional faithfulness in God can undergird faithfulness through self-doubt. Christians, because they have unconditional faithfulness in God, have a support system available to them that is far superior to any other to which anyone could possibly appeal. We have something that worldly people and non-Christians simply do not have. We have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in our lives. We know this from the Holy and Inspired Scriptures – the Word of God, the Bible.
One dictionary defines self-doubt as “a lack of faith in oneself: a feeling of doubt or uncertainty about one’s abilities, actions” (“Self-doubt”). Though we may not think so, “Everyone experiences self-doubt” (Tartakovsky emphasis added). Self-doubt is a common concern generally shared by people everywhere. Yes, even bullies, sports stars, public speakers and loud, pushy or bossy persons also encounter moments of self-doubt.
“Self-doubt shows up in different ways. It might manifest as seeking advice or validation for decisions because we don’t trust ourselves” (Tartakovsky). A little self-doubt, instead, may lead one to reexamine himself or herself and to reevaluate a method or the evidence supporting what he or she says or does. To that extent, some self-doubt may be a positive thing. Usually, though, self-doubt has an inhibiting effect. “…Self-doubt ‘can lead to a persistent need for reassurance, leaving you feeling anxious unless others are providing it…’ It can leave people paralyzed when making decisions, fearing they’ll pick the wrong choice. They might get stuck on everything from which career to pursue to which bedsheet to purchase” (Tartakovsky).
“…Ultimately, the problem with self-doubt is that it prevents us from expressing our true selves. We might compromise our authentic voices while we seek confirmation from others… Self-doubt can lead to you feeling disconnected from important parts of yourself. Ultimately, it can lead to not pursuing what is most important to you” (Tartakovsky).
“There are many reasons why we doubt ourselves. Fear is a big one. We may fear rejection, failure or even success… ‘Generally, self-doubt is connected to vulnerability.’ When we’re open and exposed, we may get hurt or make mistakes. So self-doubt serves as protection by holding us back or asking for reassurance…” (Tartakovsky).
Children, who we were before we became adults, may be victimized by their environment. Their surroundings and the people to whom they are subjected may bring about self-doubt, which they may very well carry with them into adulthood.
Picture in your mind with me a 2-year-old boy. He’s asleep in a moving automobile, but when it comes to a stop as it’s parked, he awakes and begins to cry. His father, then, relentlessly beats him with a leather belt until there are welts all over his body, all the while, the little defenseless boy thrashes about and screams in pain and betrayal. This little boy has a 1-year-old brother.
As the years come, two additional little boys are born to the family. All of them experience a harsh life of merciless beatings by both their mother and their father. Once, the second son was thrust headfirst by his father into a plywood wall, and at another time, Dad sprayed shaving cream into his mouth while also beating him.
Later, the children were segregated from their peers at home, except for attending public school. Consequently, the boys had little opportunity to socialize with youngsters their own age. The boys harbored within themselves a genuine fear for their own wellbeing, as well as a resentment, at best, toward their parents – the very ones who should have lovingly nurtured them whereby the children would have learned how to love and about family.
Is it any wonder that the boys grew to adulthood with self-doubt? They were survivors, and they left home at the earliest opportunity when they were grown, but taking with them self-doubt put within them by their mother and their father. Mom and Dad never instilled in them self-worth but quite the opposite. They distrusted themselves to rely on themselves, and they distrusted their parents, as well as the rest of the world.
Irrespective of whether one’s self-doubt is the product of a severe environment in his or her childhood, or if one’s personality lends itself to indecisiveness, there is a reliable remedy to mitigate or lessen feelings of uncertainty. Come to know God through the Word – the Bible (Romans 10:17). Become a child of God by following His instructions in the New Testament to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ – our Savior (John 8:24), to repent of one’s sins (Luke 13:3), to be willing to acknowledge or confess faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10), to submit to baptism (immersion in water) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), to practice Christianity in one’s life (Ephesians 5:8) and to repent and pray in the future for subsequent sins after becoming a child of God (Acts 8:22).
The Bible records instances of wavering faith. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ dampened the faith of His followers. Luke 24:13-35 recounts two of our Lord’s disheartened disciples discussing His crucifixion and how previously they had believed that He was the Messiah. Even after some of the apostles had seen the resurrected Jesus, yet there were doubters. One of the apostles, Thomas, was such a one. John 20:25-28 reads:
The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” (NKJV).
Previous to the death of Christ during His ministry, the apostles and others, too, admitted having a weakened faith. Notice Luke 17:5, as it says, “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” Mark 9:23-24 records, “Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’”
On other occasions, Jesus Christ rebuked the apostles for having weak faith. “But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’…” (Matthew 8:26). Mark, in his Gospel record, wrote in this place, “…How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).
Speaking specifically to the apostle Peter, Matthew’s Gospel record notes Peter’s attempt to walk on water. “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31).
Acts 9:13-20 illustrates the trickle-down effect of moving forward in the service of Jesus Christ, even when one has a hesitancy to do so. On that occasion Annanias’ hesitation pertained more to whom Jesus was sending him – Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of the church.
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Just think about the consequences if Annanias had not gone to Saul (later better known as the apostle Paul). The apostle penned most of the New Testament (13 or 14 books). He mentored younger men as Gospel preachers or evangelists, first took the Gospel to Europe, led evangelistic teams to plant the Gospel and revisited churches later to edify them and to install elders in them. Fortunately, Annanias did the bidding of our Lord Jesus Christ and led Saul to believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ or Messiah, after which baptizing him. Saul or Paul’s conversion has led to countless souls also obeying the Gospel of Christ throughout the centuries.
Despite self-doubt that a child of God may have within himself or herself, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit comprise an unsurpassed support system to help a Christian do whatever he or she needs to do, particularly in the service of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. James wrote by divine inspiration, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). Don’t let self-doubt stop you from doing what you know is your Christian responsibility to do! In that regard, the apostle Paul proclaimed, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Don’t let self-doubt result in berating yourself and having a feeling of inferiority. “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God” (1 John 3:20-21).
Works Cited
“Self-doubt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 18 Jan. 2024. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unconditional>.
Tartakovsky, Margarita. “7 Ways to Navigate Self-Doubt.” Psychcentral.com. 16 Oct. 2014. 27 Jan. 2024. <https://psychcentral.com/blog/7-ways-to-navigate-self-doubt>.
