If I began to count how many times I have experienced or better yet entertained self doubt in my own life, we would run out of time. I have struggled with self-doubt so much even though from the outside looking in you wouldn’t be able to know this. If you see me in my element and going after the things I want, you most likely couldn’t picture me as one who struggles with this. I have had to talk myself out of self-doubt numerous times. Even getting to the point of me releasing these blogs, I had to wrestle with this until I couldn’t anymore.
Back in 2021 I remember going for a leadership retreat with my youth group and while we were doing our daily prayer walk, I had my journal with me and I heard God clearly say to me “you can’t struggle with self-doubt if you are dead to self.” I wrote that statement down so quickly because it hit me so strong. It’s one of those moments where you are just left asking God “wait what did you just say to me?”
Self doubt doesn’t really add anything to your life, the way I see it self doubt is a thief, an intruder if I might add. It’s a thief of self, it intrudes in your life without permission but the only part is that it doesn’t stay unless it’s welcomed. Most of the time when I have a thought of self doubt, I often try to circumvent it by affirming and re-affirming myself contrary to my thought but once I allow the thought to linger for a long period of time, the thought now begins to find home in my mind and the minute self doubt has taken space in me, it goes to work and that work is to kill, steal and destroy but how can a dead person be killed, stolen or destroyed. They can’t!
Death to self is the easiest cure to self-doubt. I know that might sound a bit weird, but we ought to get to a point where the scripture that says “It’s no longer I who lives but Christ lives in me” becomes our ultimate reality, It’s When we allow Christ to fully take His place in our lives where we are no longer banking on ourselves but on the one who lives in us.
Another way to look at self-doubt is that rather than putting your confidence in God, you now assume that position and drawing confidence from self can be very limiting simply because you are a finite being with finite capabilities.
Beautiful blog. Another way to conquer self doubt is by trying. A lot of times we find ourselves inside our heads and skepticism always ends up winning the battle. By trying you figure out your strengths and shortcomings which is a great foundation for moving forward . God already gave you the green light, just do it!
That’s so true! Because if we don’t try then we give up which ends up costing us in the long run.