“I don’t know if I can do this,” I simply stated under my breath as I walked out of the lecture hall. College is not what it seems. I have so many papers due – I can barely breathe. On top of that, there’s an exam next week that I need to study for. I didn’t plan my day well. There’s simply not enough hours to study. I come back to my room, and I’m stressed. Everyone seems to have it all together except for me. Can I really do this?

“No, you can’t,” says a voice from the back of my mind, “You cannot do this.” This voice is doubt, and it is very real. This voice, this feeling, is not loud and does not come all at once. It is a whisper, a drop in the ocean of the mind, but if not calmed, the roar gets louder as the tidal wave approaches. Soon enough, I’m drowning in doubt. Everything in my life suddenly becomes flooded with unbelief. Whether it’s school, friendships, or even faith, an overwhelming sense of negativity fills my mind, and I cannot escape it. I think of all the times I have messed up; I think of my weaknesses; and I think of the recent decisions that I have made. I think until I’m caught in this sea of negativity. The riptide is pulling me under, and I can’t seem to get my footing.

Doubt is more than real, or at least it feels that way to me. Can you relate? Do you get stressed like I do? Do you struggle? Do college, friendships, work, and life drag you down sometimes? The question that arises is, “What then, do we say to these things?”

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Doubt is real, but it is far from true. The statement, “You cannot do this,” may have some truth to it, but not totally. The true statement is, “I cannot do this alone.” The reality is that we don’t have to. When negativity and doubt comes knocking on our door, we simply proclaim Jesus. When I can’t do something, I know full well that He can. When doubt pulls us down, we must remember that God is bigger than all our fears and unbelief. We can do life, school, friendships, and work, and we can do them well. It does not always seem like that, but with God’s help we can. After all, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”