Trust or verify?translated

How to deal with Thomas the unbeliever in yourself

Not everyone is born with a loud Divine call in their soul. Most people have to go to God throughout their lives through trial and error, doubt and disappointment. However, this thorny path does not mean that a person is displeasing to God. More often than not, it’s even the opposite: temptations are sent only to those who are able to bear them. How to start trusting the Lord? And can doubt help you take the right path? The rector of the church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Katunka, Archpriest Vladimir Goffman, answers.

? Is doubt considered a sin? And if so, then what is the point of a doubter going to church?

- “I believe, Lord! help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). Aren't these words a sincere confession of doubt? It is common to everyone. Even Christ’s disciples doubted until a certain time: the Apostle Thomas, until he himself saw the risen Savior, people in Galilee (“others doubted” - Matthew 28:16 - 20). Doubt becomes a sin when a person does not try to overcome it and remains in it, which can lead to complete unbelief. This is why a person asks God for help. For this he must go to church. The meaning is overcoming doubts, strengthening faith, life...