Help My Unbelief: How to Overcome Doubt and Increase FaithНамуна

Day 3: Why Do We Doubt?

Past Disappointments

All of us have experienced the disappointment of being let down by someone who told us they would do X or Y, only to leave us waiting and frustrated when they didn’t. So, when we think about the reasons we doubt, it’s easy to put previous disappointments at the top of the list.

This also applies to our relationship with God. We remember a prayer for healing that wasn’t answered as we hoped, or that resulted in the death of a loved one. A marriage that was not restored, while another marriage with worse problems was restored. Genuine, faith-filled requests that seemed to get stuck in the waiting line in Heaven.

And slowly, we start doubting God really listens to us and our prayers. We assume that with everything He has going on in the world, my desperate prayer for a new job is ignored. After all, at least I have a job, even if I don’t like it. And we grow cold, distant, doubtful; resigned to a “whatever will be, will be” mindset, and hoping to make it through another day, not fully experiencing the Joy of the Lord or His Rivers of Living Water.

We imagine God shares character traits of people that have let us down, and quickly lose sight of His Goodness and Providence. We don’t fully internalize that God is interested in us and that He loves us as a Perfect Father. Our theology can get clouded if we don’t have His Truth to fight against our limited, rational thinking, and our natural tendency to protect ourselves from getting hurt emotionally by trusting too much.

As children, we were gullible and prone to believe whatever we were told. As we grow older, we develop a sense of distrust in others to avoid getting hurt. I think this is something necessary and normal that God gives us for our protection, but sometimes we come to the Lord with that same wall of distrust. However, what Scripture reveals is His constant, ardent desire to be loved and trusted by His children, fully and wholeheartedly.

This takes priority over what we can do for Him, or even what we have done through ministry. We could be deceived into thinking that if we serve God, then He should spare us from bad things happening in life. But that is not what the Scriptures reveal.

On the contrary, we know that Jesus Himself was not exempt from pain and suffering. We live in an imperfect world, which implies that we will experience imperfection and suffering. Jesus warned us about this and we can learn from His Life and the lives of men and women who served God through thick and thin (see John 16:33 and Heb. 2, 4, and 11).

God never said we would not encounter affliction. In fact, Jesus was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Is.53). Therefore, He can understand our pain and lives to intercede for us (Heb.7:25). What God does promise is to be with us in our brokenness and that nothing will separate us from His Love (Rom.8:31-39). It is heartbreaking when we let hardships separate us from the One who bore the weight of our sin, simply because we are not able to understand why He allows certain things to happen.

It is natural to experience sadness and even deep depression. Many people in Scripture went through both. Jesus Himself said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” and on the Cross, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk. 14:34, Mt.27:46). But remember that Gethsemane and the Cross were followed by His Resurrection and Triumph over death.

If that is how you feel, allow God to speak to your heart through this devotional. Ask Him to help you overcome your trial and to open your eyes to His Kindness and Purposes. God is not done with you yet. This is His story, and He’s still writing.

Tomorrow we’ll look at another reason for unbelief and how to deal with it.

Meditate

• Has my perception of God been affected by any experience with a person? For example, an absent father, abusive spouse, distanced mother, etc. I suggest you research God’s Attributes. Knowing His Attributes will help us when our natural tendency is to think He shares human characteristics that are not applicable to God.
• Is there disappointment in my heart because God did not answer a prayer as I hoped? Talk with God about how you feel and allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you. Remember that Jesus knows our understanding is limited, but declare that you trust His Sovereignty and that His Love for you is not altered by any situation.

Prayer

Father, I recognize that sometimes I feel frustrated and sad because I don’t see answers to my prayers. You know my desires and requests, and even though I often think I know what is best for me, I resist my desire to be right and confess myself dependent upon You and Your Sovereignty. Your Thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and even though I can’t understand them, I choose to trust that You know what is best for me and that You are the Author of my life and my God. I surrender my will to You and ask that You renew my faith, joy, and hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.