It comes out of nowhere.

I’ll be muddling along with decent albeit shaky faith.

I make lists of God’s answers to my prayers.

I claim promises that God has given me in His word.

Things will run smoothly for a day or two, until…

Out of nowhere it rears its ugly head up like a Leviathan monster

threatening to undo every bit of hope and steal every shred of joy from my life.

Doubt.

It’s one of Satan’s greatest strategies to destroy me.

It comes along with physical pain – like I’ve been kicked in the gut, pummeled by the ridiculousness of all I believe.

Why are we so prone to doubt as followers of Jesus Christ?

We’re not so unlike the men and women in the Bible. Throughout His Word God gives examples of men and women who saw God do amazing works in their lives, but the moment the sense of the impossible was shoved down their throats, they cowered in a corner wrapped in doubt so thick only Christ himself could snap them out of it.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most glaring examples of doubt was experienced by the disciples.

They had just seen Jesus feed 5000 people with nothing but 2 fish and a few pieces of bread.

Fast forward 2 pages in your Bible.

Now they’re staring at 7000 people who are starving, and they got nothing – no food, no money, no hope.

Except that the same Jesus who fed the 5000 is still standing in their midst.

And they don’t even see it.

Pummeled. Hopeless. Afraid. Kicked in the gut. Frustrated. Disappointed. Discouraged.

They feel every emotion in the book except the only one they need: faith.

Oh, Jesus rebukes them. “O ye of little faith.”

He reminds them. And he teaches them. You almost feel him rolling his eyes a bit in exasperation.

But most importantly – he does it again.

He stretches out his hand and feeds the 7000 despite the disciples’ doubt.

He stays with them despite their wobbly faith.

He loves them despite them.

Do you know that nothing bolsters my faith like seeing Christ for who He is?

Look – I know the 3 steps to overcoming doubt:

• Identify the lies you’re believing.
• Replace them with the truth from God’s word.
• Repeat.

But sometimes, I’m too weak even for that simple exercise.

Sometimes, I can’t even muster up enough faith to claim or repeat.

And in those moments, my only hope is Jesus.

My only hope is the mental picture of 7000 full stomachs and the faces of 12 men who were blown away by the truth of who Christ is.

I wish I could tell you that the disciples never doubted again after this miracle.

They did.

And I will.

Maybe today you’re looking at your life and wondering how.

You’re wondering where God is or how you’re going to accomplish it. You’re staring at your life, and it just seems impossible. You may even know that God can do it, that He’s done it before, but as you look at your impossible, it just seems too good to be true.

Faith seems too good to be true. It’s like you’re afraid that by believing easily and without doubt you’re getting off easy; it’s like doubt is your penance for the impossible that you’re hoping God will do in your life.

It’s time you get over it.

God specializes in the impossible. And when you’re kicked in the gut, he’s the only one who will help you catch your breath.

He’s that good to us.

And don’t you ever doubt that.

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