It can undermined you!
Have you ever heard the expression; “don’t be a doubting Thomas?”
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:24-29
Whenever doubt creeps into your life, it can be debilitating. As soon as you start questioning one little thing, other questions will arise. At first they may be simple things of no importance, am I two fat, or am I too thin, should I really be eating this, but none of them will alter your life in the long-term sense. Yet when you let doubt sneak in on the little things, like one wrong word from someone you care about, can open the floodgates to self-doubt.
Many people who find themselves going to counseling, are under the assault of self-doubt. They begin questioning things that they have known to be true their whole life: does my mother really love me, or does my husband really love me? They even go so far is to question whether or not they are a good person, or a likable person. Doubt is very much like a cancer, if you give it a foothold it will eat away at the underpinnings of your life, until you come crashing down in a heap of despair.
Self-doubt isn’t usually incurred by strangers, regardless of how cruel someone can speak or act toward you. It usually is planted by someone you care about, and are important in your life. It has a lot to do with the disease to please, and feeling like you never quite measure up to these people’s expectations of you. This is a very dangerous path to go down. Evil, (the devil) will attach itself to any weakness it sees in you, and once the seed is planted, it will grow prolifically.
So how do we combat this self-doubt and the feeling of despair that goes along with it? How are we cured of the disease to please, when many people consider this not a disease but an attribute. My answer here would be, Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. When you feel discouraged, or feeling low, lonely or disparaging for any reason, turn to God’s Word for guidance, comfort, a light for the path of your life. Someone once said:” two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time”. If that is true, self-doubt cannot fill you if you have already been filled with the reassurance that: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psalms 139:4. This is why it is important that we stay in the Word of God, so we don’t let the devil have a foothold in our lives. Then he is unable to plant his corrosive seeds of self-doubt in our minds and hearts. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27
As parents, we know how cruel people can be at one another with their words and actions. It is important for us to teach our children that they are beautifully and wonderfully made by a loving God, who made them in his own image. Stay with them in the Word of God so they will be protected against the evil that can be instilled in their heart, that will try to make them become consumed by self-doubt.
We as authors, can be subject to doubt on several levels. Each time we get a rejection letter we question the quality of the work we have turned out. Each time we have to review by a critic who doesn’t necessarily like our writings we doubt are worth as a writer. But we need to remember; “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t …” … please all the people all of the time” (Poet John Lydgate as made famous by Abraham Lincoln). So be the author of your own happiness and don’t let other people infect you with self-doubt.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Matthew 14:31
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James 1:6
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
Matthew 21:21
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:27