Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Addressing Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

Marketers talk about creating fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in their target audience. They want you to feel FUD about yourself, your current solution to a problem, your standing in society, and so forth. FUD is a powerful weapon to motivate you to buy.

As Christians, we have to guard against FUD and recognize these elements as tools of Satan. How can we push back on them?

Let me preface the discussion by saying that doubt, on its own, isn't necessarily bad. Questioning can lead us to deeper faith when we seek and find satisfactory answers to our questions. Doubting Thomas wasn't wrong for questioning, but if he could get no farther even when presented the truth of Christ's resurrection, that would've been a bigger problem.

Going element by element, fear always threatens to weaken faith, as it is the opposite of faith. We fear the future, death, and what others may think of us. Faith overcomes fear in surprising ways, as we learn in the Bible. For example, Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) reads:

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.

Uncertainty can disrupt our spiritual growth or our calling. For example, a Christian author may feel messages like, "You're not qualified spiritually," or "You're not capable of being a good writer," or "Who would listen to you anyway?" Similarly, in so many endeavors, we can feel stunted by uncertainty that we are good enough or that we can capably figure out how to achieve good works.

Doubt sows questions about God's goodness, whether the Bible is accurate, whether we're worthy of salvation, and whether our Lord will actually provision us as needed.

FUD taken together can produce shame. In my book, "Live Like You're Loved," I address the topic of guilt vs. shame. In a nutshell, my view is guilt has to do with our actions while shame has to do with our self-image. God provides a path of forgiveness to address the guilt of our actions. I see shame, on the other hand, as a tool of Satan to create FUD about ourselves and whether we are redeemable. (I realize "shame" is sometimes interchanged with "guilt" in the Bible, but I use those words to draw a boundary between our actions and our self-worth).

To address Satan's FUD as he tries to confuse us, we start by seeing FUD for what it is. We see it as discouragement, manipulation, and even a lie - and lying is Satan's favorite activity.

We can start to manage FUD by bringing God into the conversation. What does God say about us, both in scripture and in our personal revelations through prayer and the Holy Spirit's presence? Would God discourage us from serving the kingdom? Would God insult our self-worth?

Again, we sin with our thoughts and actions, but we address our sin by repeatedly approaching God through a forgiveness cycle that cleanses us. God protects our value and worth, because God provided those to us in the first place.

Over time, as we repeatedly fight back against FUD, it begins to lose its hold on us. Satan will always look for new opportunities. But when we practice FUD removal, we get better at it, Satan is weakened, and we can freely pursue the paths to which God leads us in our seven-day practical faith.

If you have any doubts about your worth, or if you worry about your calling or your future, please look into "Live Like You're Loved" at CecilTaylorMinistries dot com under Books & Videos. You can also find it through your favorite online bookseller.