Doubt vs. Unbelief

At that the boy’s father cried out, “I have faith; help my lack of faith!” (Mark 9:24 CEB)

There is a vast difference between doubt and unbelief. Unbelief is a matter of the will. It causes people to rebel against God. No matter what He does or says, they will not obey. Doubt is a matter of the heart and emotions. Doubt is experienced when a person waivers between fear and disbelief. The doubter says, “Lord, help my unbelief.” The unbeliever says, “I will not believe.”

In many translations, the word “unbelief” is used in this verse: “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” I believe a better translation is the one above. The man was not in willful unbelief. He was just struggling to find faith.

Unbelief is sin. Doubt (sincerely questioning God) is not. Abraham, Moses, and David all struggled to understand God. If you are asking honest questions, God will not turn away from you.

Doubt can be good. I am sure this statement will make some people gasp and think it is utter heresy but hear me out. I have always struggled with terrible feelings of failure and faithlessness when I had moments of doubt. I never ever doubted the existence of God or that Jesus came to earth and died for me. But sometimes doubts would creep in during my day-to-day walk. It was then I would question whether He really was hearing my prayers and if He was still working on my behalf.

So, when I read this in Reason for God by Timothy Keller, it gave me great comfort.

A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.

We are human. We are not perfect, and we walk in a fallen world. Jesus knows what it is like to walk on the earth and face human trials. This is one of the reasons He came to earth—so He could fully experience the trials and struggles we face and become our Advocate in heaven.

Jesus never castigated the person with doubt. Instead, He gently met the person at the point of their faith. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth but it grows into one of the greatest trees. Jesus said all we needed was a small amount of faith on par with that of the tiny mustard seed and we would be able to move mountains.

So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6 NKJV).

The disciple Thomas is an excellent example of honest doubt. “So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’” (John 20:25 NKJV).

He was not doubting out of rebellion; he was doubting out of disappointment and sorrow. And Jesus appeared to him personally and showed Thomas the evidence he was requesting.

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27 NIV).

Jesus healed the son of the father who cried out to Him, “Help my unbelief!” God comforted Job and rebuked his friends. And Jesus reached out to John the Baptist when John was in prison and starting to wonder if he had been wrong about Jesus being the Messiah.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:4-5 NKJV).

God is not limited by imperfect faith. Even the strongest faith is often mixed with an element of doubt. If you are struggling with doubts, go straight to God and He will meet you at your point of need.