Help my unbelief

Piper’s devotional for today contains this line: “Let us spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things, not by coercion, but by compelling conviction.” I’m not sure how that is done by coercion, but agree whole-heartedly that it must be by a deep conviction. If I’m doubting that God is in control, it will show up. While lack of faith could be the problem, doubt could arise from a proud attitude that I know better than God. It happened to Peter. Jesus spoke of His death…

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:22–23)

The disciples had much to learn about God’s sovereign power. So do the rest of us. Some evidence of not knowing, or forgetting truth about God can be: arrogant pride, or questioning doctrines (which isn’t always a bad idea), or emotionally responding to bad news, or questioning God’s fairness or goodness, or always wanting evidence, or feeling disconnected perhaps by His silence or lack of answered prayer, or fear of the future, or failure to read and meditate on His promises, or just plain disobedience.

When a distraught father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus, he said, “if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22–24)

This man knew that faith and doubt can co-exist. He trusted the Lord in one way or he would not have brought his son to Jesus, but he recognized his doubts too. The boy’s problem seemed beyond fixing and perhaps the father’s unbelief was blocking the miracle he wanted. He also recognized that he needed help from the Lord to fully believe He would do what was needed. In other words, faith is not something this man could just conjure up on his own. He knew it was a gift from God. Paul later affirmed this:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Without that compelling conviction, which is often called the assurance of faith, my mind will waffle between trusting God when I see or feel Him at work, and not being certain when nothing is happening. I fall into ‘walking by sight’ which is not faith at all.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

When my assurance is missing and I am waffling, the Lord is merciful with a solution. He says “faith comes by hearing” to those who did not yet have the NT. To me, faith comes that way and also by reading — because the Holy Spirit uses both to enlighten me. He wants me to know:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:13–15)

There is one element most necessary though, and that is to recognize and confess whatever is blocking or replacing faith. Just the list above points to the most common avenues of doubt: questioning doctrine, following emotions, questioning God’s goodness, seeking evidence, thinking He is not listening, fear, failure to read or remember His promises, or just plain disobedience that assumes my way will work, or is better than His way. If I have these or any other unconfessed sin in my life, the first thing to snap is being certain that God is who and what He says He is. It happened to Eve in the garden and “Did God really say…” is still the devil’s favorite tool.

PRAY: Jesus, I know the answers to doubt. Doing what I know is another issue — and it suggests that I don’t really believe the answers. I believe. When I falter and fail to trust You, help my unbelief.