Doubt. A common struggle we all face from time-to-time, a strong feeling of fear and hesitation. We all have dreams, goals and aspirations; things we would one day hope to accomplish. Yet somehow, we begin to doubt these desires and ourselves. We stop taking the steps and making plans to achieve those objectives. Doubt is a vicious enemy that is constantly out to get us, constantly placing fear and hesitation into our hearts to stop us from reaching our greatest accomplishments.

I’ve been doubting myself a lot lately, believing the negative thoughts in my head: “I can’t do this,” “I won’t make it through,” “I will fail,” “I am not good enough.”

I’ve stopped believing in myself and I am in constant fear that I won’t be able to achieve the ultimate step I have worked so hard for. You see, for a long time, I’ve been working hard to reach a goal and now that I am almost there the end has become blurry, because I find myself doubting who I am, what I’ve learned and what I can do.

We’ve all been there, we’ve all been at a place in our lives, where we suddenly loose touch of everything we are, having fear and doubt take root into our hearts. More often than not, we find ourselves doubting everything we are, everything we have done, the things we are working on, and it is such a frightening place to be. We become worrisome, and our minds become full with anxiety and uneasiness. I am certain I am not the only one in this same situation.

Doubt is consuming, and fear is toxic. But what is doubt?

Doubt is defined as, “a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to assent to any of them; on an emotional level it is indecision between belief and disbelief.” Belief and disbelief, a state of mind…

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8, English Standard Version)

Doubt and fear, are things that are not brought to us by God. Contrary, God wants us to prevail and He wants us to be courageous. For some reason, we are caught in this small moment in life in which everything seems unreachable, when believing in ourselves, our goals and dreams seems impossible. Although, that is not what God says and that is not what God wants. He makes the impossible, possible. He gives us the strength that we need and the confidence we lost along the way. He makes us courageous and brave, when we have forgotten how to be, and shows us to believe when we no longer do.

If we doubt the plans and the dreams God has settled in our heart, we will never achieve them. Why? We walk in “disbelief” and are “unstable in our ways.” In order to achieve the impossible and achieve our greatest of dreams, we must believe in ourselves and believe that God can guide us to conquer everything. We must awaken what we put to somber.

“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22-23, ESV)

As hard as it is to simply tell myself, I want to tell you: We can, we are worthy, we are capable.

We have doubted too much and feared far too long. It is time for us to believe in the dreams and the plans God has given us, to believe in ourselves and stop being skeptical about our capabilities. We must bring back to life the things in our hearts that we put to sleep because of fear. We are enough, we are brave, we are qualified, we are talented. There is no dream that is outside our reach when we have God on our side. The only way we will not accomplish our dreams, is when we stop trusting in what we can do through God.

It is time that we remind ourselves of our passions, goals and aspirations; to revive the dreams God has given us and the strength He has provided us with. The time is now to dream again.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (John 14:1, ESV)

Learning to Dream