Sermon Notes
Practical Lessons for Understanding the Word of God
Why Do We Waver in Our Faith?
KEY PASSAGE: James 1:1-8 | SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: Deuteronomy 31:6 | Luke 6:38 | John 8:44; 16:13
Romans 8:28 | Ephesians 2:8 | Philippians 4:19 | Hebrews 13:5 | 1 John 1:9
hearing from the Lord. Doubting, on the other hand,
SUMMARY
involves believing what we think, see, or feel rather
Faith is essential because it’s required for our than what we know God has said. It’s natural for us to
salvation. question or doubt when we’re suddenly overwhelmed
by a distressing event. The Lord understands our
However, even after accepting Christ, believers are
struggle and wants us to come to Him with our
to continue living by faith. Some of us may have
pain and confusion. We may have to take time to
great faith while others have only a little. But we
pray, listen, and evaluate before we know what He’s
can also be characterized by wavering faith—up one
saying. Sometimes God has to sift our thinking by
day, down the next. Genuine faith is the confident
reminding us of His truth or His faithfulness to us in
conviction that God will do what He promised.
a similar situation.
However, if we take our eyes off Him and start
looking at our circumstances, our confidence in Why do we doubt?
Him could start to wobble. We will all experience
Even if we’ve trusted the Lord for many years, certain
situations like this because the Lord tests our faith
conditions may cause our faith to waver.
in order to make it stronger.
n A situation goes against our human reasoning.
A good example of this is Peter’s experience of
SERMON POINTS walking on the water. He started out confident, but
as soon as he looked away from Jesus and saw the
The short book of James contains practical waves, he started thinking humanly—people can’t
advice for those whose faith fluctuates because
walk on water—and his faith faltered. We are just like
of difficult circumstances (1:1-8).
Peter when we know what God has said but try to
When we start doubting, we’re driven and tossed add our reasoning to His commands. For instance, if
about like the surf of the sea. James says a double- we give part of our income to the Lord, it seems like
minded man is unstable in all his ways and should we won’t have enough. But Jesus said, “Give, and it
not expect to receive anything from the Lord. To will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). Anytime we rely on
be double-minded is to go back and forth in our our own logic, we’ll miss God’s best for our lives.
thinking. We may begin with strong confidence in n We allow feelings to overcome our faith. If the
God, but as time goes by and the difficult situation Lord calls us to do something that seems impossible
continues, we may start to doubt that He will do what or unreasonable, we can be certain that He will
He’s promised. equip us for it. However, if we let feelings of fear,
Doubting and questioning are not necessarily the inadequacy, or unworthiness cause us to doubt His
same thing. Questioning is seeking to gain further promise, we could miss the opportunity through
information or understand whether we’re accurately disobedience. Because the Holy Spirit lives within
SERMON NOTES | SN150308
us, we can live a supernatural life in His power if have to deal with the consequences, our guilt has
we’ll just obey Him. We’re called to live by faith, been removed.
not fear. n We could be listening to the devil. He’s always
n We don’t see God in certain circumstances. The trying to deceive us and put doubts in our minds
Lord has promised to take care of us, but it may so we won’t trust the Lord (John 8:44).
not be in the way we want. We may think that
the Lord couldn’t possibly be in the midst of a How do we deal with doubts?
difficult or painful situation, but He is. According
When we face situations that cause our faith to falter,
to Romans 8:28, He promises to work all things for
we should ask ourselves the following questions:
our good if we love Him and are called according
n Where do these doubts come from?
to His purpose.
n Has God ever failed me in the past?
n We listen to negative counsel. When we’re trying
to discern the will of God, we must be careful whom n Didn’t the Lord promise to meet all my needs
we ask for guidance. Some friends might offer to (Phil. 4:19)?
help us seek the Lord’s direction through prayer, but n Did He give me the Holy Spirit to enable me to
others may simply tell us what we want to hear or believe Him and do whatever He requires of me
what they’d do in that situation. (John 16:13)?
n We focus on the circumstances. Little problems n Did He not promise to be with me at all times
can become huge when they dominate our (Heb. 13:5)?
thoughts. That’s why we must always consider n Is anything too difficult for God?
every situation in the light of our great God. He
n Will my unbelief cost me a lifetime of regret?
can handle anything and everything. Worry and
fretting demonstrate that we do not trust the Lord.
n We may be ignorant of God’s ways. When Lazarus RESPONSE
fell ill, Mary and Martha called for Jesus because
n How would you describe your current faith? Is it
they believed He could heal their brother. They
thought they knew how God should work in the strong, weak, or wavering? Is anything presently
situation, but Jesus had something greater in mind. causing you to doubt God? If so, what can you do
He delayed coming in order to raise Lazarus from to strengthen your confidence in Him?
the dead. Spiritually speaking, we must ignore our n What kinds of situations typically tempt you to
watches and calendars because God’s timing is not doubt the Lord? What Scripture passages address
ours. He alone knows what to do, and when to do it. these issues?
His delays do not mean He’s forgotten us. n Have you ever faced a fork in the road that
n We might feel guilt over past sins. Sometimes determined your future? If so, did you believe
we doubt that God could possibly forgive us for God or allow your reasoning or feelings to govern
something we did in the past. Even after we’ve your choice? What happened as a result of your
confessed it, we still carry a heavy load of guilt. The obedience or disobedience?
problem is one of unbelief because 1 John 1:9 says,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” As believers, there’s nothing we To purchase this message on CD or DVD,
have to do to earn His forgiveness since Christ paid please visit store.intouch.org or call 1-800-789-1473.
for all our sins on the cross. Although we may still To download these Sermon Notes, visit intouch.org/sermonnotes
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SERMON NOTES | SN150308
