In our daily, everyday lives we are faced with many things that may lead us to doubt if God really exists. This is a common dilemma for believers and should not be a reason to feel guilty about. We all go through these same doubts. The real test is in believing despite all of the criticisms being leveled at our religion or our beliefs.
If you are faced with the same dilemmas or having doubts in your belief read the following tips below on how to believe in God.
First you should learn to observe – to watch and to listen to what people do or say. You will often go to services or sermons and you will be faced with vastly different ways of telling you what God’s message is. Some will be spot on in terms of your own beliefs, but others may tell something completely different and may not sit well with you. The key is to listen attentively and be discerning. Observe. Do their actions match what they say? Are the public pronouncements the same things you hear when they are in private conversations? What do they do if they commit mistakes?
Find like-minded individuals. Nothing can strengthen your belief more than finding people who share the same experiences and same challenges that you face. You can find strength in how they have kept their faith despite everything that they have gone through. These people are also more willing to listen to you and your own experiences and will know exactly where you’re coming from.
You should also be able to recognize the imperfections of people, especially the characters in the bible. The lesson here is that God’s love does not depend on your abilities, it depends on God’s — and his love is infinite. The key theme of the Bible is that God loves us.
You should also try to read up on the subject of God. If you are having doubts then go look for books that specifically address these issues. Doubt is not as uncommon as you may think, in fact there are many books written about the subject and they are quite enlightening. CS Lewis wrote a book about it, so did Madeleine L’Engle and Anne Lamott. Go look for their books and try to discover the message that they want to impart in their respective books.
Finally, believe in what God has done for you. We have all gone through a lot of things in life and the presence of God was the very thing that made you push through the challenges.
Image from Futurity.org