When I Doubt My Faith

“I believe; help my unbelief!”

I love this line from Mark 9.  A father has brought his son to Jesus to be healed, Jesus says, “all things are possible for the one who believes”, and the father then in return responds, “I believe; help my unbelief!”.

I think this is so true of all of us at some point in the faith, we all struggle with unbelief or doubt at some point or another.

If you struggle with doubt, you are not alone, in fact, you are in good company!  

• Genesis 3 - Eve was in the Garden of Eden, enjoying all the goodness God had provided for her, and still she began to doubt God’s promises
• Luke 7:18-19 - John the Baptist, who was considered by Jesus to be the greatest man to ever live, struggled with doubt.  
• Matthew 14:31 - Peter walked on water with Jesus, but seeing the wind and the waves, he doubted and sank.  

The list could go on and on of people who wrestled with doubt at some point in their lives in the Bible.  

So what do you do when you doubt?  

1. Verbalize your doubts.  In Luke 7.18-23 John The Baptist first verbalized his doubts.  He was questioning whether Jesus was truly the Messiah and he verbalized this.  Instead of holding in your doubts and struggles, verbalize them to trusted believers who can help you.  
2. Read God’s Word.  We must end up where we began, reading the promises of God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to illuminate His words within our hearts.   2 Timothy 3 says this, : 

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

3. Remember What God Has Done.  Remember what God has done in your life in the past, remember the joy of your salvation, remember the trials of the past and how God has worked through them.  Psalm 77 says this: 

                    “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago”

4. Pray.  Ask Jesus to give you great faith.  Just as this father in Mark 9 articulated his doubts, he also asked Jesus to help him with his unbelief.  Pray and ask God to help you with your unbelief.  

Remember we can’t walk this walk alone, join a local church to where you can encourage, build up, and fight for each other in your daily walks with the Lord.  

“I believe; help my unbelief!”