Sometimes, we suffer from the doubts we harbor in our minds. But have you ever considered the blessings we can receive from doubt?
Everyone goes through periods of having doubts or feeling unworthy! But have you ever considered that there is something to be learned through your doubt?
Science of Mind Magazine is focusing on the purpose of doubt in our lives. There is a special article, called “Doubt as Devotion,” in the May issue, that made me see doubt in a totally different light.
Author Joseph Nelson shares the following:
Doubt becomes devotion when uncertainty does not cause us to pull away, but instead deepens our commitment to spiritual practice and what we hold sacred.
I remember a phrase my father told us. He was on active military duty during World War II. “There are no atheists in foxholes,” he used to say. I understood that to mean soldiers learned to pray in a hurry, regardless of their spiritual beliefs, during active combat. I had not thought of that in years until I read Joseph Nelson’s article.
Doubt causes us to test our faith!
How many times do we go on with our lives, not really thinking about spiritual things or even spiritual practices, until we are in a challenging situation? Suddenly, we may realize we are drifting away from who we truly are and begin to feel helpless and unworthy. Maybe we feel we are going through a ‘test’ of some sort. Or maybe we need to see these times as challenges to find the blessings.
Feelings of unworthiness do not come from outside ourselves, but from what we feel within. When we keep falling into doubt, we can also start to feel unworthy! For me, that is like seeing a flashing red light in my mind. I realize I am out of alignment and need to step away and center myself again.
When I begin to doubt who I am, I tend to dive into doing more. It doesn’t matter what I do, just so long as it is more! I suspect it is a form of avoidance on my part. Maybe you have a similar escape tactic, as no one feels comfortable in doubt or unworthiness.
Joseph concludes his article with the following:
Doubt, then, is not the enemy of faith but its most honest test. In scripture and among mystics and modern spiritual seekers, devotion is not measured by certainty but by perseverance — by continuing to pray, serve, and seek even when God feels absent. … doubt can deepen the soul’s longing for God.
Next time you fall into doubt, ask yourself what blessings may be beyond your feelings.