Overcoming Doubt and Growing in Faith – Bible Study

Looking for what the Bible says about doubt? You're in the right place. This page brings together key Scripture and principles on doubt from across many different books of the Bible, along with practical commentary and everyday applications that can transform your life. Because this commentary is excerpted from Study and Obey's verse-by-verse book studies, every verse here has already been interpreted in its full context. As you study God's Word on doubt, we encourage you to reflect on how to apply what God is teaching you. Enjoy!

Doubting God's Goodness Goes Back to Eden

James 1:6 — "He must believe and not doubt."

Do we really believe God can and will answer our prayers? Do we really believe He is listening? Do we really believe He is all-powerful and all-good? These are questions we must ask and solve before we approach God in prayer.

The people were discouraged spiritually. Beginning to doubt God's love for them, they still maintained the appearance of obedience, but it wasn't from the heart.

Malachi 1:2 — "I have loved you," says the Lord. "But you say, 'How have you loved us?'"

God declared His love for the Jews but they doubted Him. They were skeptical. At that moment they didn't feel the love from God. If we look at this question from a historical perspective, we can see that the Jews had faced seventy years of exile because of their rebellion against the Lord. In other words, most of the trials and problems they faced were of their own making. They were the consequences of their own sins. It didn't feel like they were experiencing God's love, but it was in fact God's love.

My youngest daughter sometimes refuses to eat the food she is given. She will suddenly make up her mind not to eat it. But my wife and I believe that it is for her good to eat the food. Not only is it healthy, but if she grows up as a picky eater it will have a negative effect on her life. So we require her to eat it, and sometimes it is not pleasant. She likely does not feel love now, but it is nonetheless out of love that we require her to eat it.

The Jews in Malachi doubted God like my daughter may doubt us. Doubting God is natural. Which is easier, doubt or faith? We are sinners and it is easier to find reasons to doubt God and His words than it is to find reasons to believe in Him. Our human tendency to doubt God goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Satan was successful in getting Eve to doubt the goodness of God's command and the veracity of His warning. Because we don't see God, it is too easy to doubt Him or the promises He has made to us.

Application — Next time you begin to doubt God's goodness, ask yourself this question, "how has He loved me?" But don't ask it rhetorically as a challenge. Instead, start listing out the ways you have experienced the love of God. Write them down. Soon you will find that He does indeed love you and has shown it consistently.

— From our Bible study on James 1:1-11 and Malachi 1

Real Believers Can Have Real Doubts

Psalm 73:2 — "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped."

From verse 1 we see that Asaph, the writer of this Psalm, is a firm believer. He is not writing as someone who is hostile to the Lord or an agnostic. He knows all the history of what God has done for Israel. And he believes it. As we move forward in the Psalm, it is important to know that Asaph is a sincere believer who has some struggles, not an unbeliever who cannot bring himself to accept God's plan.

Real believers can have real doubts or struggles. Followers of God are not robots. We have real emotions. There are ups and downs in our spiritual lives. Sometimes our faith is stronger and sometimes it is weaker.

Application — Knowing this, we should encourage other believers in their times of struggle or doubt rather than judge them. It may not be helpful when brothers or sisters around us express confusion about God's plans to attack them as being weak in faith. Instead we should rally around the person and try to help him through the tunnel to the light at the other side.

True believers will not lose faith completely in the end. Asaph "came close" to stumbling. And his feet "almost" slipped. While he was tempted, he did not completely fall away to the point of no return.

When Asaph felt like this, he kept it to himself. He restrained himself from mentioning his doubts out loud. He was afraid that his weak faith would affect other believers and even mislead the next generation. He was one of the worship leaders and he didn't want to use that influence in the wrong way. There is a time and a place to express doubts. Asaph practiced self-control and he would go to the right place to deal with his feelings, namely to the Lord.

Psalm 73:17 — "Until I went into the sanctuary of God."

Asaph didn't haphazardly toss his feelings everywhere. He went to the sanctuary. There he took his feelings directly to God.

Application — It is normal to have times of doubt, but the way in which we deal with that doubt is very important. Take your feelings to God. He knows how you feel anyway. Be honest with yourself and with God about the struggles you are facing.

— From our Bible study on Psalm 73

Take Your Doubts to God, Not Away From Him

It is normal and OK to be confused and have doubts about what is going on around us. God did not create blind and deaf robots. Neither does God mind if we sincerely question Him in order to increase our understanding about His nature and why He does things. Surely we are not to test God. But neither is it beneficial to hide our own feelings and thoughts from Him, which is an impossible task anyway.

If we do not understand something, we should ask God and study His Scriptures. The very same question can be asked in sincerity or out of disbelief. Mary and Zechariah both asked the angel how the prophecy regarding their prospective children could come to pass. The angel rebuked Zechariah, but graciously answered Mary. Gabriel must have discerned that Mary asked out of a sincere desire to learn while Zechariah asked out of disbelief.

We do not need to act like something we are not. It is better to openly talk about our feelings to God than to conceal them and to pretend to be a super spiritual saint.

Reflect — We should have a close relationship with God that is open like Habakkuk does. That means that God is our friend and we should feel free to talk to Him about anything. Do you talk to God about your own doubts or feelings?

In the last two chapters we have seen that Habakkuk had questions for God. He could not understand what he was seeing around him. First he could not understand why God seemed to be tolerating the sin of the Jews. Then he could not understand why God would use an evil people like the Babylonians to punish them. He was confused and he had some doubts. However, we have learned from Habakkuk that when you have doubts you should turn to God in prayer.

Habakkuk's doubt could have led him many places. He could have ignored it and let it bubble under the surface while going about his business. Or it could have led him to become bitter against God. Such doubt if not dealt with could have caused him to lose faith completely. But Habakkuk did not allow his doubt to take him down these roads. Instead he dealt with it in the proper way, expressing ultimate belief in God's righteous character while also hoping for an answer to settle his questions.

At the end of his journey from doubt to faith, after God's final answer on the matter, Habakkuk responds once again by praying. Although he had questions he did not allow these questions to morph into something else. We can see that Habakkuk accepts God's answer. He is satisfied. In the end he places his complete faith in God and his faith in God was vindicated. Thus after all of the back and forth Habakkuk finishes this book with a wonderful prayer of praise.

Application — It is OK, and even good, to sincerely seek answers to questions you have about God and His character. You can search for these answers in Scripture, by asking other believers, and through prayer. However, you should not remain in a state of doubt forever. You need to move from doubt to faith. Do not stay there in that place of doubt letting them increase. Instead diligently seek the answer to your questions. Like Habakkuk, come to the Lord and tell Him you desperately want to understand. If you are sincere God will honor that. Even if your questions are not 100% settled (and they may not be this side of heaven) there should be a point in time when you come before the Lord and tell Him, "Even if I don't completely understand, I believe in you."

— From our Bible study on Habakkuk 1 and Habakkuk 3:1-15

Doubting From Prison

Matthew 11:2-3 — "Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?'"

In John 1, we see that John already recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Here we see that he wants to make sure. Perhaps in John's isolation in prison shadows of doubt about whether Jesus is the Messiah begin to creep into his mind. So he sends his disciples to make sure.

From this we see that even faithful and righteous prophets are people like us. They are human. They have flaws and weaknesses. They have temptations. Sometimes they have doubts or questions. We should not put people (even Biblical characters) up on a pedestal as if they are perfect. By seeing their true selves, including their weaknesses, we are encouraged that we too can be effective tools used by God even with our weaknesses. Occasional doubts or stumbling do not disqualify us from serving the Lord.

At the same time, John seeks to find a resolution to his doubts and questions. He doesn't wallow in them, but asks a sincere question to find the answer and solve his question.

Matthew 11:4-6 — "And Jesus answered them, 'Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.'"

Jesus does not give a direct "yes" or "no" answer. Instead He wants John and his disciples to think about what they have seen and heard. He wants them to look at the evidence of Jesus' life and ministry.

Application — For believers, having doubts or questions at times is a normal part of our Christian walk. But when John doubted he sought for the answer and presumably accepted it. It is normal to have questions or to have moments of doubt. When we do, we must deal with those in the right way. Take those thoughts to God and let the truth be your solid rock to stand on. Be careful not to let these thoughts control you or spiral out of control. If you have questions or doubts about biblical passages, ask. Do not keep silent and allow those things to build up in your mind.

— From our Bible study on Matthew 11:1-19

Doubting Thomas

The disciples were shut up, hiding in secret. They were scared of being seen and caught by the Jews. Jesus came into their midst and first thing told them "Peace be with you." He knew their fear, and wanted to comfort them.

In this encounter we see that the disciples were reluctant to believe in Jesus. They weren't gullible or easy targets. They wouldn't have believed a hoax themselves. They weren't deceived. Jesus showed them evidence in person so that they could see with their own eyes and believe. Once they knew it was true then they rejoiced.

Thomas has been called "doubting Thomas."

John 20:25 — "So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord.' But he said to them, 'Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.'"

This incident makes him famous. He demands what many people still demand today, to see some empirical evidence. Why did God show him this clear evidence, but not many others? Thomas had already believed the different miracles he saw Jesus doing and was loyal to Him. If we believe the things God has already shown us He is far more likely to show us more.

John 20:28 — Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus didn't rebuke Thomas and blame him, but compassionately showed him the evidence so that he would believe. Jesus was willing to show the evidence to them and didn't require any of His disciples to believe in Him against reason.

In verse 28 we see that the resurrection proves Jesus is God. Thomas called him "my God." He recognized that this miracle proved Jesus' divine identity. Jesus allowed him to call Him God without rebuke.

Reflect — If you believe without seeing you will indeed be blessed. Sometimes people think it is better to see everything in person, but we know that we will be blessed for believing what we have not seen. That is what faith is.

— From our Bible study on John 20

Doubting Your Own Salvation

Satan is the great accuser. He will accuse you. You may have thoughts come into your mind like "You are not good enough to be saved. You haven't earned it yet." You may have doubts come into your mind, "Does God really care about me? Does He really love me?"

Romans 12:2 — "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

When you are wearing the helmet of salvation, you can think Biblically about these questions. You can squash Satan's accusations. And you can address doubts with truth from God's Word. When we are saved, God opens our eyes to know the truth. But the battle is just beginning. So we have to renew our minds daily. Part of that means we keep coming back to the truth of salvation. We return to the cross over and over and over again. We bring our temptations there. We bring our doubts there. We bring all of our incorrect thinking and confusions there. We wash again in His blood. And we receive strength to again go out and fight.

Salvation gives us the most protection when we know we have it. A believer who does not have assurance of salvation, will be a poor soldier. He will live in self-doubt, often questioning his standing before God.

1 John 5:13 — "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."

Again, God does not want us to live in doubt. If you are not a believer, you should know that so that you can come to Him and if you are a believer, you should know so that you fight in His army without distraction.

— From Jason's article "The Helmet of Salvation"

We hope you enjoyed this Bible study on doubt. May God use His Word to speak into your life and give you strength to follow it. Please take some time to reflect on the questions below and consider leaving a comment with your key takeaway or insight.

Reflection Questions

• Do you really believe God can and will answer your prayers?
• How has God come through on your behalf in the past that grows your faith as you face the future?
• Do you talk to God about your own doubts or feelings?
• What should you do when you feel doubt?
• What lesson do we learn about where to search for answers to life's tough questions?
• Why is it important that Habakkuk's journey from doubt to faith ends in praise?
• How does God's response to Habakkuk's questions encourage you?
• What does Thomas' doubt show? How does Jesus' response encourage yo