One of the most difficult issues Christians deal with is that of faith and doubt. Just recently I was talking with someone who wondered if they were saved because they sometimes doubted if they really believed in Jesus with all their heart. While this is an extreme example, most people wonder if they have too much doubt for God to answer their prayers, bless their finances, or heal their body. In this article I want to tackle that difficult concept. Look at Matthew 28:
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
The eleven disciples who had walked with the resurrected Christ for 40 days doubted when they saw Him. The Greek word for doubt in this is verse distazō, which means to waiver. This passage demonstrates that if some of the eleven who walked with Jesus in flesh could doubt, we can doubt.
These verses also demonstrate that faith doesn’t come by sight because when they saw Jesus they doubted. Faith is not natural, it is supernatural and must be quickened to us by the Holy Spirit. This is why 2 Corinthians 4:13 says And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke.”
This verse demonstrates that faith comes from the Holy Spirit and not our natural senses. Faith is not something we can strive for to make happen, it comes out of our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Look back at Matthew 28 so I can show you Jesus’ response to His disciples doubt:
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
In the midst of the disciples doubt, Jesus spoke words of faith over them. He told them all authority had been given to Him so they should go disciple nations in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t condemn them for their doubt, He spoke destiny over the eleven, which brought faith.
Telling ourselves that we need more faith doesn’t cause us to get more faith because the focus is on what we lack. Letting the Lord speak destiny over us causes us to walk in great faith. This is a work of the Holy Spirit.
We know it was the Holy Spirit that brought faith to the disciples because the words Jesus spoke were spirit and life (John 6:63). Simply spending time in the presence of Jesus caused the Holy Spirit to minister faith to their heart. When we are struggling with doubt, we just need to spend time in the presence of Jesus and He will say what we need to hear so faith comes alive in our heart and drives out doubt.
Jesus knew the the challenges the disciples would face and the questions they would have so He reminded them that He would always be with them in verse 20. In other words, He was saying this faith that was stirred in their heart through His declared word would continue to come as they would abide in Him.
I hope this article has encouraged you and blessed you! Faith is not a work of the flesh, it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. This means we don’t have to work it up, all we need to do is abide in Him and we will walk in supernatural faith. If you would like to learn more about how to walk in great faith, check out this series I taught at Grace Life Church called “Living By Faith.”
