Doubt and Unbelief
Doubt and unbelief are two sides to the same coin. It means to waver in opinion or
judgment; to question; to deem uncertain; to distrust. It is a lack of belief or faith in
God and His provision. We see in the third chapter of Genesis, that the devil was
able to use doubt to weaken the trust that Eve had in God. The devil, the serpent,
tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness, he implied that God was strict,
stingy, and selfish for not wanting her to share His knowledge of good and evil
(Genesis 3:4-5) “and the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die. For
God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”. Satan made Eve forget all that God
had given her and instead focus on the one thing she couldn’t have. We can fall
into trouble, too, when we dwell on the few things we don’t have rather than on the
countless things God has given us. The next time you are feeling sorry for yourself
in what you don’t have, consider all you do have and thank God, then your doubts
won’t lead you into sin.
Completely depending upon God is essential, regardless of our level of spiritual
maturity. When we begin to rely on our own understanding, we are in danger of
ignoring God’s assessment of the situation. But by remembering His past works and
His present power, we can be sure that we are not cutting off His potential help.
David is a good example of this; he rehearsed what God did when He helped him
defeat the lion and the bear, and he faith level increased and he was able to defeat
the giant.
Doubt weakens your trust in God, but Proverbs 3:5-8 says “trust in the Lord Yahweh
with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord Yahweh and depart from evil. It shall be health to our navel, and
marrow to your bones”.
The unbelief of many Israelites, for example, kept them from seeing the Promise
Land (Numbers 13 and 14); the twelve spies returned from spying out the promise
land and ten of them came back with an evil report of unbelief. They look in the
natural and saw the giants, but forgot that God had given them the land. And
because they murmured and complained, they caused all the congregation to weep
and even wanted to pick another leader and return to Egypt (Hebrews 3:12-4:2,11)
says “take heed, brethren, less there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today;
less any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
While it is said, today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke; however not all that
came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not
with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So
we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore be careful,
less a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to
come short of it. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, less any man fall after
the same example of unbelief”. We have to learn from Israel’s mistakes, Psalms 78:
40-42 says “how often did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the
desert. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
They remembered not His hand, and the day when He delivered them from the
enemy”.
The unbelief of the Nazarenes prevented them from receiving Jesus’ miracles
(Matthew 13:54-58) which says “and when He (Jesus) was come into His own
country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished,
and said, where has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the
carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brethren, James, and
Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where
then has this man all these things? And they were offended in Him, But Jesus said
to them, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own
house. And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”. This is
the same Jesus that every where He went He “healed them all”.
Doubt blocks your receiver; just as we know that there are signals all around us,
radio waves, television signals, and all we have to do to receive their transmission, is
to tune in.
Doubting skeptics are limited in what they might see or know, while Jesus said “all
things are possible to him who believes” (Matthew 9:23). Peter walked on the water
until he began to doubt (Matthew 14:28-31) “and Peter answered Him and said,
Lord, if it be You, bid me come to You on the water. And He said, come, and when
Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But
when he saw the win boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried,
saying Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught
him, and said to him, O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?
So you can see why this scheme of the devil is to get you into doubt and unbelief, to
keep your from receiving all that God has for you.
The level of your faith or doubt is determined by the way you respond to the
problems when they come. The faith level is low when people walk by sight
responding to the circumstances, instead of speaking the word of God against
them. But James tells us “my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers
temptations. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let
patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing”; James tells us to ask God for direction and warns us not to be double
minded “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally,
and upbraids not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering, for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:2-8). Doubt leaves a
person as unsettled as the restless waves. If you want to stop being tossed about,
rely on God to show you what is best. Ask Him for wisdom, and trust that He will give
it to you. Then your decisions will be sure and solid.
In the incident when Jairus came to Jesus to ask Him to come to his house and heal
his daughter. Remember that the woman with the issue of blood delayed Him, and
when a man came from his house and told him that his daughter was dead, Jesus
told Jairus “fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole”. To believe and not
doubt means more than believing in the existence of God. It also means believing in
his loving care. It includes relying on God and expecting that He will hear and
answer when we pray.
We must have confidence that God is able to supply all of our needs (I John 5:14-
15) “and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing
according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we
ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of Him”.
Jesus told His disciples in Mark 11:23 “for verily, I say to you, that whosoever shall
say to this mountain, be you removed, and be you cast into the sea, and shall not
doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to
pass, he shall have whatsoever he says”. Our part in the equation is to keep doubt
out of our heart. We must be careful what we hear, because doubt comes by
hearing and hearing the word of the world, words contrary to the word of God.
Proverbs 4:23 warns us to “keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it (your
heart) are the issues of life”.
We can have enough faith, but it’s the unbelief that will negate your faith. Jesus
rebuked His disciples when they could not cast out the dumb spirit out of the boy,
and said that it was because of their unbelief (Matthew 14:20, Mark 9:17-29). And
He tells them that “prayer and fasting drives out unbelief”.
We have to deal with any doubt and unbelief; and we do this by surround ourselves
with people of like faith. We have to shut off the road to unbelief, by taking care
what you hear and watch. Remember that “faith comes by hearing and hearing the
word of God”.
If you are dealing with doubt, you must realize that you are vulnerable to temptation;
and as you search for answers, protect yourself by meditating on the unshakable
truths in God’s word (Luke 4:1-13) as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He said
“it is written”. He was able to defeat the devil by knowing the word of God that
contradicted what the devil was trying to tempt Him with.
We resist doubt by practicing trust. Trust in God grows as we faithfully seek Him on
a daily basis. To stabilize your trust, commit yourself whole heartedly to God. If
your faith is new, weak, or struggling, remember that you can trust God. That’s why
it is so important to determine that the Bible is the true word of God and hang on to
what it says. The Bible says to “let God be true and every man a liar”. It should not
be hard to trust God because He has such a good track record. Remember that our
goal is to become “fully persuaded”, like Abraham.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: November 3, 2009
Doubt and unbelief are two sides to the same coin. It means to waver in opinion or
judgment; to question; to deem uncertain; to distrust. It is a lack of belief or faith in
God and His provision. We see in the third chapter of Genesis, that the devil was
able to use doubt to weaken the trust that Eve had in God. The devil, the serpent,
tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness, he implied that God was strict,
stingy, and selfish for not wanting her to share His knowledge of good and evil
(Genesis 3:4-5) “and the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die. For
God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”. Satan made Eve forget all that God
had given her and instead focus on the one thing she couldn’t have. We can fall
into trouble, too, when we dwell on the few things we don’t have rather than on the
countless things God has given us. The next time you are feeling sorry for yourself
in what you don’t have, consider all you do have and thank God, then your doubts
won’t lead you into sin.
Completely depending upon God is essential, regardless of our level of spiritual
maturity. When we begin to rely on our own understanding, we are in danger of
ignoring God’s assessment of the situation. But by remembering His past works and
His present power, we can be sure that we are not cutting off His potential help.
David is a good example of this; he rehearsed what God did when He helped him
defeat the lion and the bear, and he faith level increased and he was able to defeat
the giant.
Doubt weakens your trust in God, but Proverbs 3:5-8 says “trust in the Lord Yahweh
with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord Yahweh and depart from evil. It shall be health to our navel, and
marrow to your bones”.
The unbelief of many Israelites, for example, kept them from seeing the Promise
Land (Numbers 13 and 14); the twelve spies returned from spying out the promise
land and ten of them came back with an evil report of unbelief. They look in the
natural and saw the giants, but forgot that God had given them the land. And
because they murmured and complained, they caused all the congregation to weep
and even wanted to pick another leader and return to Egypt (Hebrews 3:12-4:2,11)
says “take heed, brethren, less there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today;
less any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
While it is said, today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke; however not all that
came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not
with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So
we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore be careful,
less a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to
come short of it. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, less any man fall after
the same example of unbelief”. We have to learn from Israel’s mistakes, Psalms 78:
40-42 says “how often did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the
desert. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
They remembered not His hand, and the day when He delivered them from the
enemy”.
The unbelief of the Nazarenes prevented them from receiving Jesus’ miracles
(Matthew 13:54-58) which says “and when He (Jesus) was come into His own
country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished,
and said, where has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the
carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brethren, James, and
Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where
then has this man all these things? And they were offended in Him, But Jesus said
to them, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own
house. And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief”. This is
the same Jesus that every where He went He “healed them all”.
Doubt blocks your receiver; just as we know that there are signals all around us,
radio waves, television signals, and all we have to do to receive their transmission, is
to tune in.
Doubting skeptics are limited in what they might see or know, while Jesus said “all
things are possible to him who believes” (Matthew 9:23). Peter walked on the water
until he began to doubt (Matthew 14:28-31) “and Peter answered Him and said,
Lord, if it be You, bid me come to You on the water. And He said, come, and when
Peter was come down out of the ship he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But
when he saw the win boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried,
saying Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught
him, and said to him, O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt?
So you can see why this scheme of the devil is to get you into doubt and unbelief, to
keep your from receiving all that God has for you.
The level of your faith or doubt is determined by the way you respond to the
problems when they come. The faith level is low when people walk by sight
responding to the circumstances, instead of speaking the word of God against
them. But James tells us “my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers
temptations. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let
patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing”; James tells us to ask God for direction and warns us not to be double
minded “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally,
and upbraids not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering, for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and
tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:2-8). Doubt leaves a
person as unsettled as the restless waves. If you want to stop being tossed about,
rely on God to show you what is best. Ask Him for wisdom, and trust that He will give
it to you. Then your decisions will be sure and solid.
In the incident when Jairus came to Jesus to ask Him to come to his house and heal
his daughter. Remember that the woman with the issue of blood delayed Him, and
when a man came from his house and told him that his daughter was dead, Jesus
told Jairus “fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole”. To believe and not
doubt means more than believing in the existence of God. It also means believing in
his loving care. It includes relying on God and expecting that He will hear and
answer when we pray.
We must have confidence that God is able to supply all of our needs (I John 5:14-
15) “and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing
according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we
ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of Him”.
Jesus told His disciples in Mark 11:23 “for verily, I say to you, that whosoever shall
say to this mountain, be you removed, and be you cast into the sea, and shall not
doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to
pass, he shall have whatsoever he says”. Our part in the equation is to keep doubt
out of our heart. We must be careful what we hear, because doubt comes by
hearing and hearing the word of the world, words contrary to the word of God.
Proverbs 4:23 warns us to “keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it (your
heart) are the issues of life”.
We can have enough faith, but it’s the unbelief that will negate your faith. Jesus
rebuked His disciples when they could not cast out the dumb spirit out of the boy,
and said that it was because of their unbelief (Matthew 14:20, Mark 9:17-29). And
He tells them that “prayer and fasting drives out unbelief”.
We have to deal with any doubt and unbelief; and we do this by surround ourselves
with people of like faith. We have to shut off the road to unbelief, by taking care
what you hear and watch. Remember that “faith comes by hearing and hearing the
word of God”.
If you are dealing with doubt, you must realize that you are vulnerable to temptation;
and as you search for answers, protect yourself by meditating on the unshakable
truths in God’s word (Luke 4:1-13) as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He said
“it is written”. He was able to defeat the devil by knowing the word of God that
contradicted what the devil was trying to tempt Him with.
We resist doubt by practicing trust. Trust in God grows as we faithfully seek Him on
a daily basis. To stabilize your trust, commit yourself whole heartedly to God. If
your faith is new, weak, or struggling, remember that you can trust God. That’s why
it is so important to determine that the Bible is the true word of God and hang on to
what it says. The Bible says to “let God be true and every man a liar”. It should not
be hard to trust God because He has such a good track record. Remember that our
goal is to become “fully persuaded”, like Abraham.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: November 3, 2009
