How to Believe With Confidence without Having Any Doubt

We all want security. We want to be confident, definitely not in doubt. Who doesn’t want to live to the full, with purpose and confidence?

But how do you know that you are right? How do you really know what the truth is, eliminating any doubt?

There are so many denominations and non-denominational churches out there…so many preachers.

And don’t forget about all the individual ‘experts’. It is as if there is no shortage of people who can’t wait to tell you about everything you are doing wrong and what you should or shouldn’t be doing. And it’s as if everybody wants to claim to be right.

Sometimes it might not be said in so many words, but they leave you with the feeling that if you don’t agree with them, you’re on your way to hell. Those are harsh words, but sadly it is the message that many people get bombarded with. People are being intimidated by the use of fear.

So, where does it leave us? Who do we believe? Who should we listen to? Who can we trust and how can we have confidence in what we believe?

This can be a challenging question to many Christians, not to mention newly converted Christians.

Do You Feel Confused About What You Believe?

Do you sometimes feel confused by all of this? Do you get scared? What if you are wrong?

Over time I’ve joined some Christian groups on Facebook. I am sad to say that I have left some of those groups faster than I joined.

Don’t get me wrong, we should discuss God’s Word and reason about it. But we should do it in order to uplift one another and everybody should learn in the process. It should be done in love and with mutual respect.

When it starts to feel like individuals are having a competition to show who has superior knowledge and bad remarks start flying around to make the other person look inferior, it’s time to get out of there.

Not one of us knows it all, but God.

In all honesty, since I have started joining other (often writing-related) groups, I have found more sincere Christian orientated, spontaneous faith-based remarks and discussions than in groups where I was actually looking for it.

It’s A Lifestyle of Confidence, Not A Set of Rules to Confuse You

If you’ve never been confused in the slightest, that is good. But, I know I’ve been there. As a young man, I would often question what I saw around me, and I got told not to always interpret the Bible so literally.

“It depends on the circumstances”, they told me.

That never made any sense to me (and it still doesn’t). If I cannot literally believe what the Bible says, what is the sense in believing?

If the Bible says I should be joyful, I don’t see the sense of first thinking what day of the week it is. If the Bible says I should have the joy of the Lord and rejoice and be glad, then that is how it should be seven days a week (yes, we all have our challenging days, but some people go around as if someone is paying them to be miserable).

I also can’t understand why people would act in a certain way on a Sunday, and then you can hardly recognize them when you meet them at work on a Monday. What’s wrong on a Sunday should also be wrong on a Monday. And if I — as a Christian — feel free to do something on Friday, surely I should be able to do it on a Sunday.

It’s about a lifestyle. It’s not about a set of rules according to the day of the week or the venue where you are at. If you don’t feel comfortable visiting a certain venue on a Sunday, it means you shouldn’t be there in the first place — not any day of the week, never.

Of Course, We Can Have Fun

That doesn’t mean we as Christians can’t have fun. Quite to the contrary, I personally think I can even have more fun while I can consciously have a good time versus the guy who can’t even remember where he has been the night before.

God has nothing against us having fun. But He doesn’t want us to partake in activities which can harm us. God also doesn’t want our actions to cause harm to someone else. Because God loves us, He wants us to live a healthy, productive lifestyle and to be full of joy.

God’s Word is Alive

What I do understand, is that the Word is alive. I can read the same scripture as the one I’ve read a month ago, yet I can receive a whole new message which is appropriate and applicable to the situation that I’m facing.

Two people can sit in the same church service, listening to the same message, yet it can mean something different to each individual according to what they are going through at that particular time.

Have you ever gotten that “this sermon is specifically aimed at me” feeling? That’s exactly what I’m talking about.

Many people miss out on this because they get pre-occupied by who the speaker is for the day. Is it someone well-known? Is it someone they like or dislike?

That causes you to listen to the voice of the speaker and you miss the Voice behind the voice. You miss the message behind the message. Don’t be focused on the speaker; focus on the message from the Word.

How and where can We Find the Truth and the Facts?

To be focused on a person is opening the door to confusion.

I fell into that trap. Earnestly searching for answers from people I saw as religious leaders and not always finding answers that convinced me, I started searching wider.

I started reading more and more books. I started listening to many different preachers and eventually, I got confused.

Many of these people gave their personal opinion and interpretation of the scriptures, and I started getting confused by this.

But the day came (I believe by the leading of the Holy Spirit) when I realized; it is good to listen to these people and hear what they have to say. But once you’ve heard what they have to say, it is your responsibility to test it against God’s Word and see how it lines up with the Word (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22).

Yes, it is good to read many books and listen to what different people have to say. I find the advantage of reading these books, listening to different messages and watching videos often bring topics to my mind that I never even would have thought of otherwise.

But don’t take anybody’s message as final authority before you have done your own research. Once you’ve heard what they have to say, find out what the Word of God says about it.

When you find information that lines up with the Word, you’ve really learned something. All doubt is removed and you’ll never forget it.

Benefits of Doing Your Own Study and Research

When you listen to what someone else says, the first thing you should do is to see if they practice what they preach.

If what they are teaching, lines up with what you read in the Word of God, you should also be able to see the fruits of it in their own lives.

Once you start doing your own research by comparing it to the Word of God, you will:

• Soon learn who you can believe and trust (and obviously start paying more attention to what they say).
• Get rid of all confusion, because you make God’s Word the final authority in your life.
• Increase your knowledge.
• Gain confidence in what you believe about God’s Word (when anybody asks for ‘my opinion’, I normally say that my opinion doesn’t really matter, what’s important is what the Word says).
• Build your personal relationship with God.

In Summary

There are a lot of people who love to voice their personal opinions. Take note, but don’t blindly believe everything you hear.

To find the real truth about the Christian lifestyle and faith, test everything you hear or read by learning what the Word of God says about it. That will enable you to know who you can trust, listen to and learn from.