Faith Without Doubting

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” James 1:5-6

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

As I read the through the Scriptures I am constantly impressed by how the success of our Christian walk depends on faith. Obviously, our faith saves us but to lead a joyful, contented, holy Christian life depends on faith also. The Christian life is from faith to faith (Romans 1:17) and three different places in the New Testament state that the “just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38). We are both justified and sanctified by faith.

The verses above describe more about this faith. Faith is believing in truths that are not yet seen and without doubting. This appears very difficult at first but God has graciously given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to have this sanctifying faith. The Holy Spirit reminds us of and teaches us the proper application of Scripture (John 14:26); He helps us in our weaknesses, including lack of faith, and intercedes for us with prayers (Romans 8:26); and He equips us with spiritual gifts to aid the building up of the body – we help others and they help us in our weaknesses, including lack of faith ( I Corinthians 12:4).

In deploying this faith we must not doubt, taking our eyes off God as Peter did when he was walking on the water and ended up sinking. The word for “doubt” in the original suggests vacillating. This is a person who oscillates between faith and doubt, unable to trust God completely. Our lives become unstable and inconsistent like the surf of the sea. Something other than ourselves drives us to and fro. We often find ourselves in Romans 7, doing the things we do not want to do, not controlled by the Holy Spirit.

How often I have found myself in this vacillating state. Times of steadiness in my Christian walk followed by times of failure. However, it need not be. We can walk in the power of the Spirt and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Jesus said that all things are possible to those who believe (Mark 9:23). The Holy Spirit provides us with that power to believe if we will not yield to doubt and let Him control our lives.