Someone asked me recently if I’ve ever wavered in my faith. Before I tell you my answer, let’s talk about wavering faith versus weak faith.
What is Weak Faith?
In the book of Romans, Paul gives a suggestion about a person with weak faith.
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
-Romans 14:1-4 ESV
A weak faith is not a faith that dishonors God. In verse 5, Paul observes that one person esteems one day as better than another, while someone else esteems all days as the same. And in verse 6 is where we see the fact that weak faith is not problematic for God.
“The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
-Romans 14:6 ESV
A weak faith is simply an immature faith. It is the faith of the new believer, or the faith of a person who has not spent time intentionally working to grow their faith. A weak faith is nothing to be ashamed of, but an opportunity to draw closer to Jesus to grow stronger in faith. And we all would benefit from that.
What is a Wavering Faith?
A wavering faith is different. James talks about a wavering (or doubting) faith.
“But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.”
-James 1:6 NLT
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
-James 1:6 ESV
A wavering faith is one where doubt creeps in. And why does doubt creep in? Because we think our faith is in Christ, but it is not. Let me explain.
Recently we lost a family member that I love deeply. He wasn’t my immediate family, but my brother-in-law. However, he was as close to me as any blood brother, and closer yet because he was an amazingly consistent Jesus follower. He lived his life with Jesus clearly as his most important priority.
He was suffering from an incurable disease that was not caused by his lifestyle. It was just part of his body. His wife, adult children, their spouses, and other family members went through many grueling weeks of ups and downs, all the time praying for a complete healing. People all over the world were praying. But then he passed away less than two weeks ago.
Through the entire ordeal his immediate family never questioned God. They never doubted God’s love. They repeatedly declared God as sovereign. They prayed desperately for complete healing, while still sincerely acknowledging that God always knows what is best for everyone involved. During an incredibly hard time their faith never wavered, because their faith was in Jesus.
Do you know what a wavering faith is? Do you know the cause of doubting faith? It’s a faith not in God, but a faith in the expectation of receiving the desired answer to prayer.
Feelings-Based Faith
From the outside it’s easy to see the difference. A strong faith remains close to God even through the worst of circumstances. David showed us an example of a strong faith when his first child with Bathsheba died. Now, in this case, David had sinned by sleeping with another man’s wife and having him murdered. But that’s not the point of this story. When the resultant child became sick, David fasted and prayed. He lay on the ground and would not get up. He would not eat. This went on for seven days…and on the seventh day the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him because they were worried he would harm himself. Here’s what happened.
“But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate.”
-2 Samuel 19-20 ESV
When the child died, David got up, cleaned himself off, went to the house of the Lord, worshipped, and then ate. He accepted God’s will without question. That’s how strong faith behaves. It is faith in God, not faith in the outcome.
A wavering or doubting faith is based on feelings. When someone walks away from God because of something terrible they or someone they loved experienced, it’s not because God stopped loving anyone. God is not at fault here. We know bad things will happen, even to those who are innocent. No, a wavering faith, a doubting faith, a loss of faith occurs when the faith was not in God, but rather in the false belief that God is only loving when He does what we think is the right thing. It is a faith based on us getting what we feel we should have.
Also, a quick aside. If you have a strong faith, then you have a responsibility towards those with a wavering faith.
“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire.”
-Jude 1:22-23a ESV
The Cure for a Wavering Faith
The cure for a wavering faith is simple. For a wavering (or doubting) faith there is one initial step. Here it is: don’t just come to Jesus as Savior, but also make Him Lord of your life. When Jesus is just our Savior, we trust Him for the salvation of our soul. We trust Him to welcome us into Heaven. But when Jesus becomes our Lord, we give Him sovereignty over every aspect of our lives. We let Him do His will without questioning it or railing against it. We trust Him, realizing that He always knows best.
And Now We Come Full Circle
Remember when my friend asked me if my faith ever wavered? My answer was immediate but required thoughtfulness. No, my faith has never wavered. I’ve never doubted God. But at times my faith has been weak and immature. And sometimes it still is. Do you recall the question that started this post? It was, how can I grow stronger in my faith? Let’s answer that.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
-Hebrews 10:23 ESV
“Let us hold fast.” Beloved, having a strong faith is a decision. You don’t just receive a sudden infusion of strong faith from the Holy Spirit and then you’re good for life. Well, I guess you could, I won’t limit God here, but in my life a strong faith is built from a decision and experience.
You decide that no matter what you will trust God. No matter what, you will accept His will. Of course, you still pray. Of course, you still ask. But when He does not answer your prayers the way you want, or even when He seems to be ignoring you, you still trust.
A strong faith is built on a decision…and in getting to better know the nature of God. It requires time in His word, time growing in relationship with Him, and time with His people, serving and loving others in His name.
That is how you grow stronger in your faith. Decide to trust and take action to draw ever nearer to Jesus.
If you have follow-up thoughts, feel free to reach out to me directly via our contact form. Also, if you’d like to learn more about me and why I create all this content about following Jesus, check out my About page. If you love the content and would like to support this work, please visit Troy Stoneking (buymeacoffee.com). Finally, would you like to see a list of ALL our blog posts? Here it is!
Love you Jesus follower!