How to deal with self doubt about your faith?

How do you know you have faith in Jesus? This is a question that has often bothered me. I understand the Bible speaks on the importance of believing on Jesus. Does the Bible tell us how we know we believe?

In my own life I can see my faith in Christ. I’m not sure how I should respond when I have self doubt about the genuineness of my faith.

This is an insightful question. I am currently going through a season on that exact topic, you see I believe in his power and in miracles even though I have never seen or experienced them myself I know I have faith because I believe in him not in myself.

Self doubt is a constanmt battle but I liken it to how courage works, being brave or courages isn't to be without fear rather it is choosing to act even though you are afraid the human body acts on such things even if your afraid a virtous heart makes the body instinctively run to danger.

In the same way having faith isn't to be without doubt or self doubt rather it is choosing to believe even with doubt. believing and having faith is a choice and it also is a process, at first we lean on him giving him our trust even though we deal with doubt but eventually he will bring us to the point where we are confident and we take him at his word. This process can take years to go through before we have unshakable faith and doubt no longer has any place in us but it is a process that will create a generation of miracle workers

Even when you face moments of doubt/self-doubt, when you find yourself trusting Jesus and/or asking Jesus for help during trying times, I believe that is when you know you have faith in Jesus.

There is a quote I read along the lines of .. 'faith without doubt, anguish of mind, without searching..without fear, is not faith at all'

When you believe -- and continue to believe -- that Christ died for your personal sins according to the Scriptures, and rose again for your personal justification according to the Scriptures. Just read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 over and over again.

Some people who personally interacted with Christ and
witnessed His miracles in person had their doubts, too.

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Mark-9-24/

Um, I dont know what you mean
I guess Im not sure

I mean I KNOW Jesus died and and rose again...but I am not sure that *I* believe that

are you guys playing with me? so people on here are just talking a whole lot of make believe?!

No, I’m not playing around. For me I can see my faith in Christ when I pray and desire that people would know him. Also when I desire to see Jesus and come into his arms, I can see my faith in him.

When people have walked away from the faith I have often heard that they have never believed in the first place. Thoughts that have come to mind about this is how do you know they never really believed? Maybe they did believe. And if they never truly believed who walked away, how can Christians know they possess genuine faith?

Think of like this...


Status.......vs State.

If you have believed in Jesus......and you know when you did this.......then in that instant God took you and you became His.
This never changes, as God caused you to become a Son of God or a Daughter of Christ.
God CAUSED THIS to happen to you..
This is your STATUS.
Your Status is that you belong to God, you are born again, and you are always in God's family.

Now, your STATE....

This is how you feel.
"""""""Well today i feel so close to God., yet yesterday, i didnt even feel like i was saved.""""""
"""""What will i feel about it tomorrow?""""""""
See that?
That is your MIND, and your mind changes from minute to minute, as that is how feelings function.
So, how you feel, is your State

But your STATUS, is What has done for you, that is always the same......You belong to God, and you are His Son or Daughter, by BIRTH.

that dont make sense sister

you can believe and then change your mind later
but you cant not believe and then walk away from something you never believed!

I wouldnt worry too much about it, the word doesnt return back empty. Look at the parable of the sower. Its the condition of ones heart that is important. if the seed falls on rocky ground, or shallow soil, it wont have much chance to grow. Satan might take the gospel away before anyone gets the chance and weeds can choke it.

I thought you were talking about YOURself, not OTHER peoples doubts

When I first heard the gospel, I didnt put my trust in God untill many many years later. You can hear it, but doesnt mean you accept it. How do I know when I first believed, well signs followed when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and saviour. If I ever walked away or turned my back on Him, He would always nudge me and bring me back.

Have u seen in jeremiah: cast your seed not among thorns & in Isaiah put your alph omega into gardening. then there the parable where the gardener interceeds for the fig tree give another year of life as he works with it

what i'm thinking is some times we can change the condition of the soil rather leaving it to luck.

I was speaking of myself however when hearing that people who stop being Christian never were believers, the question of how would a Christian know they really believe came to mind. I think my own OCD likely contributes to questioning if I truly believe.

2 whoever maybe listening. It's simple, if nothing works with your faith give up all that u have and walk.All your heart mind & soul.

Please explain further. I’m not sure what you mean.

Tim Keller on Doubt and Doubting Doubts
THE REASON FOR GOD: BELIEF IN AN AGE OF SKEPTICISM (DUTTON: FEB 2008), PP. XVI-XVII.
A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection. ¶ Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts — not only their own but their friends’ and neighbors’. It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them. Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide the grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.

But even as believers should learn to look for reasons behind their faith, skeptics must learn to look for a type of faith hidden within their reasoning. All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs. You cannot doubt Belief A except from a position of faith in Belief B. For example, if you doubt Christianity because “There can’t be just one true religion,” you must recognize that this statement is itself an act of faith. No one can prove it empirically, and it is not a universal truth that everyone accepts. If you went to the Middle East and said, “There can’t be just one true religion,” nearly everyone would say, “Why not?” The reason you doubt Christianity’s Belief A is because you hold unprovable Belief B. Every doubt, therefore, is based on a leap of faith.

… The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternate belief under each of your doubts and then ask yourself what reasons you have for believing it. How do you know your belief is true? It would be inconsistent to require more justification for Christian belief than you do for your own, but that is frequently what happens. In fairness, you must doubt your doubts. My thesis is that if you come to recognize the beliefs on which your doubts about Christianity are based, and if you seek as much proof for those beliefs as you seek from Christians for theirs — you will discover that your doubts are not as solid as they first appeared.

Tim Keller

You can know you are His through your actions in obeying the two greatest commandments: how you treat others and how you worship the Father.

Faith without works is dead, so the fruit of our actions proves the faith we have. There are many people who claim to be pretty good people, even claiming to be Christians...but do they truly treat others the way they personally would like to be treated by others? Do they love the Almighty with all of their heart...all of their soul...all of their mind...all of their strength? If so, then the very character and nature of the Son are in you even if they're not perfectly expressed just yet.

...But believers can and do experience moments when their faith is low...and some are even in danger of losing their faith altogether and becoming spiritually bankrupt. But maybe I can explain what scripture says faith is to help in the process of growing yours (and others) so that we always have it in abundance.


What is faith?

Scripture proves that faith is something one possesses. It's not a state.

- Faith is portioned out (Romans 12:3)

- Faith can be grown (Luke 17:5-10)

- Different people have different amounts of faith (Matthew 8:26; 13:58; 15:28)

- Faith can be lost (2 Thess. 2:1-3)

- Faith is to be used and is very, very potent/valuable when used (Matthew 17:20)


Q: What is scripture describing here? What is something similar in our world that's portioned to us...that we can grow or lose...that different people have different amounts of...that is very, very valuable when used?

A: Money. And even our money is said to be backed by the "full faith and credit" of the people. Every dollar has two signatures on it, because "by the testimony of two or more witnesses is every matter established".


Likewise, faith is the currency of heaven. It can be argued that it's literally the "treasure" that Messiah teaches one should "store up" instead of storing up treasure down here. The more you use your faith, the more it grows...even our faith in the Messiah.

We must grow the initial faith we've been given, but how? Well, just like money down here, we must properly use and reinvest our faith. The Messiah taught that when we pray we are to believe that we have received (past tense) what we're asking for, and it will be ours to the glory of the Father (Mark 11:24).

The "have received" part is us using our faith (like hitting "complete transaction" on Amazon). And as long as there's enough faith in our account the transaction is successful (even though faith is very, very valuable you still need to have enough faith to justify a sizable request..this is also why praying with more than one person is even more potent. Equivalent to sharing the cost of a purchase.).

The patriarchs taught to end all prayers with "amen". Amen is a statement of faith that means "so be it/so it is". So when you say "amen" you are saying "and so it already is" or "it is already true" or "it is already done".

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I won't get into details about how science has just discovered how the same light particle if split across time and space, appears to react to each other instantaneously. But suffice it to say, they just unknowingly discovered the mechanics of faith.

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When you pray for something and truly have enough faith, the Father has already prepared it for you in advance. But if you don't have enough faith then it was never prepared. This is why the faith you have is both the currency AND the proof of something you hope for.


Hebrews 11:1-3
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.


- Substance = (bible definition) wealth/money/treasure
- Evidence = testimony/proof (like a receipt of purchase)

So faith is the wealth in your heavenly bank account, initially distributed to each person by the Eternal One. And just like He used faith to create the world, He also expects His children to use their faith. The more you use your faith the more your faith - in the Father and in the Son - grows.


Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

That's a good question.

This might help: "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;"—1 John 3:18-19

Do you try to please the Lord in your walk through this life? If so, you're faith must be genuine. No one can please Him 100% of the time, but if you're trying that's a good sign. If you stop worrying about what He thinks then there might be a problem.