Photo Courtesy:  United States Library of Congress

“I know you have your doubts

They’re so hard to live without.”

~The features

Doubt is a part of everyone’s life.  We doubt what people tell us, their motives and even whether they will be there for us or disappoint us.  Doubts grow like weeds and take over like a Virginia creeper.  It starts with one tiny thing and then we begin to feed it and before long, we have tangled ourselves in a web of skepticism, doubting that even the people who care about us really even care anything at all.  We constantly seek reassurance that what we are doing and saying is acceptable.  We all seek approval in some form.  I believe that is something innately human.  We want to please people and we want them to like us.  Even those of us who believe we don’t care what people think about us are only in denial.  Each human cares desperately what others think.  This is where we get into trouble if it’s not channeled properly.  We have a need to please, because God wants us to want to please Him ultimately.  But sometimes, when that is misdirected toward the approval from others, we become Pharisees.  We should always seek to “obey God, rather than man,” but sometimes that becomes hard when those we seek to please are good people.  Being popular and well-liked as our goal, even in a community of great people, does not make it less wrong of a goal.  We must rest in the truth that our approval, sense of self and ultimate happiness should never come from anything but a Divine Source who loves us and sacrificed for us.  Doubt comes quickly and without warning, like a flash of lightning.  So when trust begins to give way to doubting, remember this.  Stop and take a step back. Know your mind can play tricks on you.  But also accept that people will let you down, disappoint you and make you wonder why you even try.  But also accept that we should “not grow weary in doing good.”  Just keep working as if the only person you are striving to please is the One who made you and knows you best.  This mindset may lighten the weight of disappointment and aid you in your search for contentment.

~lme