Is It Wrong to Doubt? What to Do When Your Faith Feels Shaky

Struggling with doubt? You’re not alone. Doubt isn’t the enemy of faith—it’s an opportunity to grow. Discover how questioning your beliefs can actually deepen your relationship with God and lead to a

Hey, I’m Pastor Chris. I write about faith, doubt, and the messy, beautiful journey of following Jesus. If this article resonated with you, why not stick around for more? Subscribe for free (or go all in with a paid subscription) to get faith-filled content that meets you where you are. And if you want to fuel both my writing and my caffeine habit, you can always send me a coffee—because deep thoughts are best brewed with a fresh cup in hand!

I have a confession: Sometimes, I doubt. Not in the "I don’t believe in God anymore; it's time to become a goat herder in the wilderness" kind of way, but in the small, nagging "God, are You really going to come through on this?" kind of way.

If you are honest, you have probably been there too. Maybe you have prayed for something, and nothing happened. Maybe you have read a difficult passage of Scripture and wondered how it fits with the God you know. Maybe life has hit you so hard that you cannot help but ask, "God, where are You?"

If you have ever wrestled with questions like that, you are not alone.

What Is Doubt and Is It a Sin?

Doubt is not the same as unbelief. Unbelief is a decision to reject God and His truth. It is a hardened stance that refuses to trust Him. Doubt, on the other hand, is the tension between what we believe and what we experience. It is the internal struggle to reconcile our faith with our circumstances.

Doubt is what happens when we hit a situation that does not make sense based on what we know about God. Maybe you were raised believing that if you prayed, God would always answer in a way that made sense to you. But then life threw something at you that left you questioning everything. Maybe you lost a loved one, or you have been waiting for years for God to come through on something, and you are still left wondering why nothing has changed.

That tension is doubt. And here is the good news—God does not condemn us for it.

Biblical Examples of Doubt

The Bible is full of people who doubted, wrestled, and questioned, yet God did not cast them aside. Instead, He met them where they were and strengthened their faith.

• Moses was called by God from a burning bush. Fire. Speaking. A miracle happening right in front of him. And yet, his response was not excitement or confidence—it was doubt. He questioned whether God had chosen the right person for the job. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exodus 3:11). God did not rebuke him. He reassured him.

• Gideon struggled with doubt even after seeing signs from God. When God called him to deliver Israel, he responded with, "Pardon me, my lord, but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family" (Judges 6:15). He then asked for multiple signs just to be sure, and God patiently gave them.

• John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus, had a moment of doubt. While sitting in prison, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:3). This was the same John who had once boldly declared Jesus as the Lamb of God. But in his suffering, doubt crept in. Jesus did not condemn him. Instead, He pointed to the evidence of His miracles and ministry.

• Thomas gets a bad reputation for doubting, but his story is actually one of grace. After the resurrection, Thomas refused to believe unless he saw the scars on Jesus’ hands and touched them himself. Jesus did not scold him for his doubt. He met him in it. He invited Thomas to see and believe (John 20:24-29).

• Asaph, one of the psalmists, struggled with deep doubt. In Psalm 77, he asked, "Will the Lord reject forever? Will He never show His favor again? Has His unfailing love vanished forever?" (Psalm 77:7-8). He was brutally honest about his struggles. But as he reflected on God’s past faithfulness, his perspective shifted.

In each case, God did not reject the person for their doubt. Instead, He responded with patience, reassurance, and an invitation to trust Him more deeply.

Jesus Welcomed Questions

Jesus never rebuked people for asking questions. He did not tell Thomas to stop doubting. He invited him to see for himself. When a desperate father came to Jesus saying, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24), Jesus did not push him away. He responded with compassion and healing.

This is important because sometimes we assume that doubt makes us weak Christians. But in reality, bringing our doubts to Jesus is an act of faith. Doubt is not a sign that your faith is failing. It is a sign that your faith is genuine.

If you never questioned, never wrestled, and never asked the hard questions, your faith would be shallow. Faith that has never been tested has never had the chance to grow.

What This Means for Us

If you are struggling with doubt, you are not alone. You are standing in the same space that Moses, Gideon, Thomas, and John the Baptist stood in. The question is not whether you will experience doubt. The question is what you will do with it.

• Will you let doubt push you away from God, or will you bring it to Him?

• Will you let doubt paralyze your faith, or will you press in and seek answers?

• Will you assume that doubt means you are failing, or will you recognize it as part of growing closer to God?

Faith is not the absence of doubt. It is trusting God even in the middle of your questions.

Why Doubt Can Actually Strengthen Your Faith

Some Christians are taught that doubt is dangerous. They fear that if they ask too many questions, they might unravel everything they believe. This fear can create an unhealthy mindset where doubts are ignored, suppressed, or considered shameful.

However, doubt can lead to deeper faith when handled the right way. If we never question, our faith remains shallow. It becomes something we accept without genuinely understanding. If faith is never tested, it is never strengthened.

When we wrestle with doubt, we are forced to seek answers. We cannot just rely on the faith of our parents, pastors, or church traditions. We have to dig in for ourselves. We press into God instead of settling for straightforward explanations.

Faith That is Tested is Faith That Grows

Think about how muscles grow. If you never exercise, your muscles remain weak. But they become stronger when you put them under stress—lifting weights, running, or doing something physically strenuous. The same is true for faith.

Doubt puts our faith under stress, but when we work through it, our faith strengthens. It shifts from something we inherited or assumed to something we have fought for and made our own.

James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Doubt is a kind of testing. It forces us to ask, "Do I believe this? Why? What evidence is there? Is God trustworthy?" If we approach it with honesty and willingness to seek truth, we will come out on the other side with a more resilient and mature faith.

Biblical Examples of Doubt Leading to Stronger Faith

The Bible is filled with people who doubted but still pursued God. They did not walk away because of their questions. They brought them to God, wrestled with them, and grew more profound in their faith.

• Abraham: God promised him a son, but years passed without a child. At one point, Abraham questioned God, asking, "Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?" (Genesis 15:2). God reassured him, and Abraham’s faith grew as he trusted God’s timing.

• Job: He lost everything—his family, wealth, and health. He cried out to God in deep distress, asking why. He wrestled, questioned, and even accused God of being unfair. But by the end of his journey, his faith was more substantial than before. He said, "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5).

• Peter: He walked on water, but when he saw the waves, he doubted and started sinking. Jesus pulled him up and asked, "Why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31). Peter’s faith did not crumble because of that moment. Instead, it grew. He became one of the boldest leaders in the early church.

• The Disciples: They constantly questioned Jesus. They did not always understand His teachings. They ran away when He was arrested. But they kept following Him. After His resurrection, their faith was unshakable.

Genuine faith does not have all the answers. It is choosing to trust God even when things do not make sense.

What This Means for You

If you are wrestling with doubt, do not let it scare you. Instead of seeing it as a threat to your faith, see it as an opportunity to grow.

• Instead of ignoring your questions, press into them.

• Instead of walking away from God, bring your doubts to Him.

• Instead of assuming doubt means you are losing your faith, recognize that it might be strengthening it.

Faith is not about knowing everything. It is about trusting the One who does. If you never questioned, never wrestled, and never struggled, your faith would be fragile. But when you work through doubt with honesty and perseverance, your faith becomes something strong, unshakable, and deeply personal.

God is not afraid of your doubts. He invites you to bring them to Him, to ask, to seek, and to grow.

How to Work Through Doubt in a Healthy Way

Doubt can either push us closer to God or further from Him. The difference is how we respond to it. If we ignore our questions or pretend they do not exist, doubt can fester and weaken our faith. But if we bring our doubts to God and seek truth, they can actually make our faith stronger.

Here are some ways to process doubt in a healthy way:

1. Bring Your Doubts to God

God already knows what you are thinking. He is not shocked by your questions. Many Psalms are raw and honest prayers where the writer wrestles with doubt and frustration. God welcomes that kind of honesty.

One of the best things you can do is to pray, even when you do not feel like it. Instead of hiding your doubt, bring it to God.

2. Stay Connected to Other Believers

Doubt thrives in isolation. If you keep your questions to yourself, they can grow into something bigger than they are. Talk to other believers. Find a mentor or a friend who will listen and walk you through your struggles.

God designed us to grow in faith together. When we process our doubts in community, we often find the encouragement and wisdom we need.

3. Study and Seek Answers

Sometimes, doubts come from not knowing what the Bible says. Other time,s they come from painful experiences that make us question what we thought we knew. Either way, seeking truth is essential.

Read Scripture with fresh eyes. Study the tough questions. Listen to people who have walked through doubt and found deeper faith on the other side. Do not settle for surface-level answers.

4. Remember What God Has Already Done

When doubt feels overwhelming, remember how God has been faithful in the past. Remember moments when He answered prayers, provided for your needs, or gave you peace amid chaos.

The enemy wants you to forget God’s goodness. But reflecting on what God has already done strengthens your faith in what He is doing now—even if you do not see it yet.

Faith is Not the Absence of Doubt—It is Trusting God in the Middle of It

Faith is not about having everything figured out. If we had all the answers, we would not need faith.

Abraham followed God without knowing where he was going. Job wrestled with deep questions but still clung to God. Paul faced hardships and uncertainty, yet he trusted God’s grace was enough.

Faith is not pretending we never struggle. It is choosing to trust God even when we have questions.

If you are doubting right now, do not panic. It does not mean you are failing. It means you are growing.

Doubt is not the enemy of faith. It is an opportunity to press deeper into the God who never lets go.

Now, if you will excuse me, my coffee is getting cold, and I need to talk to God about a few of my questions.