Doubt, does it afflict Christians today?

Ellen White states is hard or not natural for us to believe, and yet its very natural for us to foster doubt or allow it to linger as we see in this sermon quote..."I want to say a few words in reference to faith. I want to say, brethren and sisters, it is not natural for us to believe, but it is very natural for us to foster unbelief. This is the besetting sin, and has been the besetting sin of God's people. It has not been natural for me to believe for myself, and I have had very severe lessons on this point until I know that it is not safe for me to cherish for one moment any doubt. I never doubted the truth, but to cherish doubt in regard to myself and my work. " (1 SAT 143.1)

The thing that really gets me is that one of the ones you would think would be the strongest in the faith, allowed it to come into his heart, who was it, lets look...

Matthew 11:1-3 KJV

1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

How could John the Baptist go through all the evidence that He was the Messiah, and yet still harbor doubt..

Did John the Baptist continue to harbor doubt?

And what was Christ's response to his question in verse 3?

Then there is also Peter's denial of Christ.

How did Christ respond to that?

Doubt is the opening wedge used to upset or challenge a person's convictions and beliefs.

There are several recognized steps in changing a strongly held world view, or prophetic view.
1. Challenge the accepted paradigms -- ask doubting questions, contemplate opposing scenarios .
4. Repeat new information over and over until it starts to sound "normal" and right.
5. Take action on the new beliefs. Integrate them into daily life.
6. Be patient and persistent.
7. Surround the people with others who have similar beliefs.
8. Keep pushing more information along the desired new concepts

But the first step is casting doubt and unsettling the mind.

Just watch the crafty serpent in Eden cast his seeds of doubt at Eve, till he had her doubting, then filling her mind with new information till she was eager to be "released" from God's boundaries.
-- Did God really say???
-- are you sure God isn't withholding some important information in order to keep you in your place??
-- in other words, can you really trust God?
-- did God say you would die -- look I (the serpent) ate and didn't die, I advance in knowledge, don't believe God, just look at the evidence! Eating this fruit empowers and makes you like God!


How to counter doubt?

In this world doubts will always present themselves. Like John the Baptist in prison. Doubts started to plague him. But Jesus sent him confirming information and evidence of His divinity and mission.
When John let his mind feed on this information he was able to rest in assurance.
As the world and our human weaknesses feeds us doubts we need to seek Jesus and His truth daily, continually. It's not enough to rely on past experience. Fill the mind with reliable information from His Word daily, spending time 'beholding Him" continually! What the mind feeds on will shape our belief and views.