21 Reassuring Bible Verses to Defeat Doubt in Your Heart
- Sarah Frazer Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
- Updated Jun 15, 2021
What would you think of a child who looks at their mother and says, “I don’t believe you love me”? It would seem the child doesn’t know a mother’s love, right? A mother who pours herself out for her child daily by cooking, cleaning, and working does it out of love for her child. To hear her child say, “I don’t believe you love me,” would hurt, would it not? We would wonder if there was something wrong with that child.
Christian, our Heavenly Father is not like an earthly mother. He is so much more loving and kind than any mother we could have. His everlasting love is spoken about, written about, and praised throughout history and the Bible. Even with all of this, we still have doubts of His love for us. For me, the doubts come at night. I lay in bed wondering if God loves me. It seems silly, even as I write it, to say those words. Of course He loves me. And even I tell people, “God loves you! God loves me!” But in the middle of the night when doubts seem to invade my mind, it is hard to remember that truth. It just is.
I’ve found that we often do not doubt God’s character or fail to believe He will or has saved us. Worry often assails us when we start doubting God’s promises are true for us. In other words, we believe God is kind, but we struggle to understand or see how He would be kind and good to us. Our enemy uses the doubts in our hearts to draw us away from the God who promises good for us. Not because we don’t have proof, but because we doubt it is true.
Pay No Attention
One of the best books on the Christian life was written over a hundred years ago by Hannah Whitall Smith. It is called The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. In one chapter she talks about doubts and makes a very clear observation. When we dwell in our doubts or linger in our doubts, we are giving a foothold to the enemy. Don’t forget we must hand our doubts back over to God. For the doubts are nothing but lies from the enemy. She says the cure for doubts is this:
“Pay no attention to them {doubts} whatever, but treat them with the utmost contempt. Shut your door in their very face, and empathetically deny every word they say to you. Bring up some ‘It is written,’ and hurl it after them.”
Her answer? God’s Word! “It is written….” What has God written to help us defeat doubt? Those doubts will come. They will knock at your door. The answer to our doubts is not to have them. We will have them. The answer comes in how we respond to them! The entire Bible can be used to help us fight the doubts in our minds, but certain verses have proven to be especially comforting when faced with the loud noises doubts like to make. Here are twenty verses to help you defeat doubt today.
21 Verses to Defeat Doubt
Psalm 4:8 - “In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” We can sleep in peace, friend, when we trust in God’s protection.
Psalm 34:17 - “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” God is listening to our prayers. It might seem like He is silent, but we can know for a fact He hears us.
Psalm 37:5-6 - “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn; your vindication like the noonday sun.” God will do what He says He will do. If you are wondering which way to go today, commit your plans to Him.
Psalm 50:15 - “And call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” Call out to God. If your heart is troubled, He will deliver you. The circumstances might not change, but your perspective can.
Psalm 94:19 - “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” The word here means comfort. God can comfort us when we are anxious. How? With His Word!
Isaiah 26:3 - “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” Do you want to have this perfect peace in your heart? Keep your mind steadfast, never moving, on God.
Isaiah 40:31- “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” The worry and doubt can wear you down, but the weariness is not the end. God promises to give us strength. Keep this promise close to your heart when you are tired.
Matthew 11:28 - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus said these words and they reveal His true heart. He is not angry with you, friend. He says come, and in Him, we find true rest.
John 16:13 - “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” If you are confused about what to do, the Holy Spirit has been promised to you, to guide you!
John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Once again, the words of Jesus can comfort our hearts because His peace is based on His work on the cross. He has overcome all sin; therefore, we can fight doubt with this truth.
Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If you are waiting to come to Jesus because of our doubts, remember He came to you first – in all your sin. Don’t wait. He died for you and loves you.
Romans 8:38-39 - “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If nothing can separate us from God, this includes our doubts.
2 Corinthians 5:7 - “For we live by faith, not by sight.” Sometimes we just need to be reminded that this life we live is one of faith. Doubt doesn’t have a foothold when we choose to believe.
Philippians 4:6-7 - “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Prayer is the key to peace. When the doubts come, pray.
James 1:6 - “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” The doubts will only make you seasick. Faith and belief are your anchors!
2 Timothy 1:7 - “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” Do you fear? God has given us the Holy Spirit to give us courage.
Hebrews 11:1 - “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Doubts would like nothing more than to have us question our faith. If our faith is rooted in something real and assured, doubts have no footing.
1 John 1:9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” If sin is the reason you doubt, go to God and confess. Speak this promise over any unconfessed sin. Reject the guilt once you have repented!
1 Peter 5:6-7 - “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Do you doubt God’s care? When you do, speak this verse to your heart and remember He has always cared for you.
2 Peter 1:4 - “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” These promises are given so you may thrive in your faith. Hang on to the promises!
Those Are Not Your Doubts
I encourage you to write one of these verses down. Maybe you could even memorize it. Make sure to keep it close to your heart. I pray it brings the peace God promises in Isaiah 26:3. For when we set our minds on God, we will have peace and silence those doubts.
Let me leave you with this truth: “They are not your doubts until you consent to them and adopt them as true” (Hannah W. Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life). If you are struggling today with doubt, remember those doubts do not own you, they do not define you, and they are certainly not your doubts if you do not dwell on them. Dwell on God and His Word and even as the doubts rise up in your heart, you can fight them off with the power of Scripture.
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