How to Recognize and Eliminate the Weeds of Doubt

Weeds of doubt and discouragement will destroy a garden of possibility. I have to keep them out or dig them up before the weeds can take over.

My dad told me he didn’t believe in me. We were sitting on the back porch having our morning chat and he spoke the words that scattered among my seeds of possibility a weed of doubt.

It sat there, quietly putting down roots, unrecognized, waiting to release its destructive force.

The words my dad used would not have been considered by most as harsh or even negative. “When we are done talking about the dream let’s get back to the reality of the moment.”

It was only later in the day that I saw the words for what they were – a discreet attempt by the enemy to sway me from daring to believe. After all, my dad has always been the one that dared to believe even the biggest dreams with me. If he had stopped believing, then it must not be real.

I dug up the weed and I tossed it out of my hope garden. Doubt has no place there. I know that the dreams I shared during that chat were not delusions or mirages in the desert, they were the hope and faith of the promised land.

Avoid Weeds of Doubt

• Avoid sharing everything that stirs in your heart. If it was meant for everyone then it would be stirred in their hearts as well. “Guard your heart – for out of it flows the issues of life.” This is not just about what you put in your heart but about what you expose.
• Pray before you share. Talk it out with God before you let anyone else in on the expectation. Hope and Faith are powerful weapons in this world, but they can also be fragile in the beginning.

• Be prepared. When you do share dreams and expectations, the enemy will come at you. Friends, family, and organized religion are three of his favorite weapons. Preparation for the attacks can be the key to avoiding them.

My dad has always been a believer in my dreams. He has shared with me his own faith in my journey. He has dared to speak the possible even when I’m facing the impossible.

Over the last several years, I have been invested in growing up my personal relationship with Christ. “Learn for yourself.” It was a challenge my dad has repeated since I first started asking him about Scripture. I have to know for myself because it is the only way for me to discern my own journey.

I have been pondering his words of dismissed dreams – not from a place of doubt anymore, but from a place of strength in my own Faith and convictions. The days leading up to our talk, I had been heavily in the Word and prayer. I had just come away from a “revelation” moment. I knew. When I know, even words from someone that I respect and admire do not stop that knowledge from moving forward . . . eventually.

Recognize the Weeds

• Don’t accept everything you hear (or read). Just because THEY say it doesn’t make it real – and it definitely doesn’t make it real for me.

• Know the real source. I respect my dad. I know that he has experienced many things and learned even more over the years. I also know that the One that has all the answers dwells in me just as much as He dwells in my dad.

• Be firm in Faith. I have to know in my knower so that nobody and nothing can convince me otherwise. The only way to come to this type of solid conviction is through personal investment.

It doesn’t have to be a big weed to make a major impact in our lives. Even something that might be beautiful and perfect in your life might be a destructive force in mine.

Several years ago, I was at a plant swap. One of the plants offered by a fellow gardener was touted as having yellow blooms in the late summer. The only catch was it needed shade.

I took the small plant home and put it in a place that had partial shade, hoping for the best. Over the next decade, we had an epic battle with this plant – which grew not so small in our garden. It took over everything and began spreading into the yard.

It was great for her garden but became a destructive force in mine.

I need to listen to others and learn from them, but I can never forget that the Teacher resides in me, and His Word must be my final say.

Hope makes the way. It is the foundational tie that binds me to God in a bold and lasting trust. Hope is key to creating the Faith that moves mountains. Hope matters when it comes to creating the barrier that will keep my journey weed-free (or at least will give me the wisdom to pull out the weeds when they show up).

Hope Provides Weeds of Doubt Protection

Hope IS trust – trust in God, trust in His promise, and trust in His direction.

• It starts with Love – relationship with God
• Relationship creates trust – grows up HOPE
• Hope makes way for Faith to be planted & nurtured.
• Faith grows up to turn mountains into molehills.

Faith, Hope, Love


Weeds can be scattered in by the wind, dropped in by the birds, thrown in by the enemy, or sometimes given to me freely by well-meaning friends and family. I have to find the way to protect against the weeds, to recognize them when they spring up, and to know what works in my unique journey.

Be blessed,

Got HOPE?

The Book of Proverbs offers wisdom and guidance for living out a life overflowing with hope and possibility.

Purchase your copy of Practical Proverbs and gain the 8 traits from Proverbs that will create a path to the change you desire.

Click HERE