Many thoughts assail us in the midst of suffering, to the point of questioning all that we believe. How do we guard our minds and fight against such thoughts when our hearts are so weary?

If I still struggle with sin, am I even a Christian? If I’m facing the same struggles I did before I was saved, maybe I was never saved at all? The heart of these questions is a confusion about our sanctification and justification—here’s a simple answer.

Does repentance never feel like enough? Do you wonder how God could love someone as wicked as you? Do you doubt your salvation every time you sin? Sister, you can have assurance of your salvation and escape those weighty feelings of self-hate and condemnation—all through the gospel.

Sometimes, suffering will be a reckoning with our doctrine. It will appear as hopeless laments. Sometimes there may even be questions and doubts. But God is still there.

Maybe you have felt that too, that grasping in the air for faith while your hope is depleted. If your faith is weak and you’re stumbling through a barren land in search of something to strengthen you, there is one who loves you, who supplies your every ounce of faith, even when you feel faithless.

When someone doubts their salvation, we shouldn’t come questioning what they have done for God and how much they love him—we should come with the message of the gospel. Let’s counsel those who doubt with the gospel, not their works.