S. 3 E. 2 "Doubt Doesn't Disqualify You. Staying In It Does."

Built For Confidence | Week 2: Doubt the Doubt June Series — The Breakthrough Behaviors

Episode Description

Have you ever been in the middle of an assignment you know God gave you, and quietly wondered if you really heard Him right? Not because the vision disappeared — but because the process got harder and longer than you planned for.

That's the place between two somewheres. And in week two of The Breakthrough Behaviors, Coach Paul Ybarra tackles the one thing most leaders won't talk about openly: doubt. Not the kind that means you lost your faith — the kind that shows up right in the middle of the calling. What you do with it determines everything about what comes next.

Here's the line to hold onto: Doubt does not disqualify you from the calling, but staying in a doubtful mindset will keep you from walking it out.

What We Cover

1. The distinction that changes everything — doubt vs. unbelief. Jesus responded differently to each. Doubt is transitory, a wavering moment He corrects but doesn't rebuke (Peter on the water). Unbelief is a fixed decision, a hardness of heart. Peter had enough faith in his doubt to step out of the boat.
2. When doubt becomes a posture, not a moment. The "rehearsal trap" — replaying every reason it won't work until you condition your mind to expect defeat before faith has room to move. Coach Paul gets honest about his own "fire starter" years: branding it, posting it, launching it, but no follow-through, always questioning the calling when the process got hard.
3. Clarity comes through obedience, not before it. Abraham left without a complete itinerary — just a direction and a promise. Don't worry about the how; focus on the why. The next obedient step is almost always visible. The full roadmap usually isn't.

The Takeaway

A moment of doubt inside the process is not the same as a decision to reject the assignment. Peter got out of the boat, started to sink, and Jesus caught him — then they walked back together. The doubt was a moment, not the end of the story. Your next step is already visible. Take it, bring your questions to God, and keep it moving.

Scripture Referenced

Matthew 14:28–31 (Peter on the water) · James 1:6–8 (the double-minded man) · John 11:21 (Martha at the tomb of Lazarus) · Hebrews 11:8 (Abraham's obedience)

Your Call to Action

Share this episode with somebody who's sitting on a decision they've been afraid to make. You know that person — it might even be you. Tag yourself or tag the person who needs to hear that doubt does not disqualify you.

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Transcript

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Have you ever been in the middle of an assignment, one that you know God gave you, and you quietly wondered if you really actually heard him right? Not because the vision disappeared, not because you stopped believing, but because the process got harder and longer than what you planned. The results came slower than you expected, and somewhere in the gap between where you are and where God said you're going, doubt showed up uninvited. Remember that place of nowhere's between two somewheres? That's what we're talking about today. And if that's you right now, or it's been you at any point of your journey, I need you to hear this before we go any further. Doubt does not disqualify you from the calling, but staying in a doubtful mindset will keep you from walking it out. Welcome to Build for Confidence, the podcast where kingdom builders rebuild identity, sharpen clarity, and lead with conviction. I am your host, Coach Paul Ibarra, and every week we're cutting through the noise to help you stop second guessing, start deciding, and build with confidence right where God has placed you. So listen, drop a review, drop a comment, hit that like, subscribe, all the things, and let's get started. So last week we talked about thoughts. Let me know in the comments how that has blessed you. Because remember, these mental weights are not good for your next season. And if you missed that one, go on back, listen to it, because it sets the foundation for everything that we're covering this month. So this week, we're going somewhere that most leaders don't talk about openly. We're going to talk about doubt. Not the kind that means that you've lost your faith, but the kind that shows up right in the middle of the assignment. And what you do with it determines everything about what comes next. Let's break down point number one: the distinction that changes everything: doubt versus unbelief. You see, Jesus responded differently to doubt than to unbelief. And this is critical. And here's what doubt is it's transitory, it's a wavering moment. You see, Jesus corrects it, but he doesn't rebuke. You remember the story about Peter in the water, Matthew 14, 28 through 31? Jesus didn't condemn Peter, but he helped Peter realize that even through what he looked at, the storm, the waves, all the things, Peter was not functioning in unbelief. Because if Peter did not believe, he never would have stepped out of the boat. Unbelief is a fixed decision, a hardness of heart. Because when we look at the story of the man and the and the son that was demon-possessed, the man said, I believe, but help me in my unbelief. Jesus continued to heal the boy, but he first addressed the man. You see, belief is going to change everything. It changes everything in your life. And if you're constantly operating in unbelief, your doubt, which is perfectly normal, becomes the spirit you operate from. Let's unpack the full picture of Peter. Number one, Jesus instructed his disciples to head on over to the other side. He says, I'll meet you there. Number two, Peter and the disciples got scared. They thought Jesus was a ghost walking on water. And number three, Jesus knew their doubt, and he said, It is I. Do not be afraid. I know you're doubting me. But it's okay. And the moment Peter heard that, there was enough faith in his doubt for him to say, If it's you, petition me to come. Jesus cleared up the doubt in that moment, and Peter stepped out, but then doubt hit him again, and he started to sink. What is this telling us? Doubt is going to constantly come, but God does not rebuke the doubt. He helps us through it so we can continue to believe. Matthew 14, 31, Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him. And here's the thing we often miss. Peter was number 12 because he left 11 behind. He was the one who stepped out. And here's what I heard from a good friend of mine, Miss Jody. Sometimes we want God to come into our present circumstance when God is really calling us into his. Jesus was coming to meet his disciples. He was already on the way. But Peter was the one who challenged him. If it's you, petition me to come. So wherever you are in business, ministry, leadership, God is petitioning you in the areas where you are asking him to show up. And things will change when you step out of your own boat. Because the sinking was fear-interrupting focus, not a rejection of Christ. Peter believed, but the sinking was a human emotion reaction. And I want you to understand something. It's okay. It's an emotion. The moment you start operating in fear as a posture, now it becomes the spirit of fear. So wherever you are, I want you to doubt the doubt. Focus clearly on what God has called you to do. Because Jesus caught Peter, he corrected him, he kept moving with him. If Peter had stayed in the boat, that to me is unbelief. What if he never stepped out? But see, he had the faith to ask, and Jesus said, Come. So now let's move on over to the story of Mary and Martha at the tomb of Lazarus. This is John 11, 21. Martha said, Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died. Was that unbelief? No. That was a disappointment meeting divine timing. That was a reality check. It's the fourth day, and in Jewish culture, they believe that after the third day, the soul has already been released. But see, Jesus showed up anyway, and he raised Lazarus. The doubt was resolved through the encounter. So the things in your life that seem dead right now, your business, your vision, your family, Jesus can show up in his own timing to resurrect those things. Especially when you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that God has told you what he is going to do. So here's a takeaway from point number one a moment of doubt inside the process is not the same as a decision to reject the assignment. Say that again with me. A moment of doubt inside the process is not the same as a decision to reject the assignment. Because when doubt becomes a cycle, James 1, 6 through 8 says, the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. The person must not suppose he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Double-mindedness is not an intellectual uncertainty, it's a spiritual instability. So what does it look like for a leader? Bouncing from framework to framework, cohort to cohort, never settled. I know this specifically in my own life. There were years of running and building my business, creating different programs, doing all the things. But these last few years, and especially these last few months, I am the clearest that I've ever been. But I had to remove myself from the noise, remove myself from the things that added nothing to my life, even people. I would start out strong and then pull back. When it got uncomfortable, then people would call me the fire starter, right? Give me an idea, I would brand it, I'd post it, I'd launch it, but no follow-through. I was always questioning the calling because the processes got hard. Does this make sense to you? Are you in that space right now where you have so much going on that you feel cluttered? This is what I call the rehearsal trap. Replaying every reason it won't work. And how do I know things are different in this season? Because the people who have known me for four to five years are telling me, dude, there's a peace about your voice. You're not going back and forth. You're actually doing the work behind the scenes. But I had to get out of that rehearsal trap. I had to stop asking, what if, what if, ugh, and I had to start doubting the doubt. You see, when you continue to replay every reason that it won't work, you condition your mind to expect defeat before faith has room to move. Old disappointments become the filter for present decisions. And that's not where God wants you. Doubt as a posture, not a moment, is what produces instability in your leadership, your relationships, and your vision. So don't allow it to become a posture. All right? Heading on over to point number three. Clarity comes through obedience, not before it. So many times I prayed, God, just give me clarity on what's next. And I heard nothing. But here's what I learned through the process. Abraham left without a complete itinerary. He had a direction and a promise. That's it. Hebrews 11:8 talks about by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going, because clarity develops through you as you continue moving toward God. It's not about eliminating every question first. It's okay to ask questions. It's okay to say, Lord, this doesn't make sense. God's invitation is relational. He wants you to bring your questions to him and keep it moving. This is a place that wrestling is honest. Jacob wrestled with God. Jacob did the things, right? David wrestled, Abraham wrestled, they all did. But here's the danger staying in the wrestling without continuing in obedience. You see, it's okay to be unsure. It's okay to say, I don't know how this is going to work. And here's what I'm going to impart in you today. Don't worry about the how. Now notice how I said that. Don't worry about the how. Worry. Focus on the why. Because worry will take you down a rabbit hole you're not prepared for, especially when you're called by God. So here it is. What is the next obedient step you already know you need to take? Because that step is almost always visible, but the full roadmap usually isn't. You see, mature faith is not built by eliminating every question, like I said. It's built by continuing to trust God while the questions still exist. So here's where I want to leave you today. The doubt that you've been sitting with about your calling, your direction, your assignment, that's not necessarily a sign that you heard God wrong. It may be a sign that you are in the process. And the process has always required trust before clarity. Again, Peter got out of the boat. He started to sink. Jesus caught him. And then they walked together back to the boat. The doubt was a moment, not the end of the story. So your next step is already visible. Take it. Bring your questions to God and keep it moving. That's how doubt gets resolved. Not by sitting in it, but by walking through it in obedience. So next week we're going to be talking about FOMO, the fear of missing out, and how comparison quietly pulls kingdom builders off their assignment. This is a conversation you don't want to miss. So your call to action today is this share this episode with somebody who is sitting on a decision that they've been afraid to make. You know that person. That may even be you. So if that's you, tag yourself or tag that person that needs to hear that doubt does not disqualify you. I'll catch you on the next episode. Everything, all my resources are down in the show notes. Keep building, my friend. We'll talk soon. I want to thank you once again for tuning in to the Build for Confidence podcast. If you have found value in any of these episodes, do me a huge favor, drop me a review, and also let me know which episode has touched your life. My passion is to help business owners grow, scale, and expand for the kingdom of God. So let's get out there, let's build our businesses, share this out, hit that like, all the things, and we'll catch you on our next episode. God bless.