A leader I respect and admire said to a room full of people recently that “doubt is the opposite of faith.” It was a passing comment, it wasn’t the main point of what he was saying but like an arrow to the heart I thought, “no it’s not!”
My pastoral heart revolted against that comment, because I’ve seen too many over the years throw Jesus out with the bathwater if they doubt, believing that faith is incompatible with questions or confusion. I think we need more leaders and Christians who have the privilege of speaking to others about their faith (oh look, that’s all of us), to be bold and honest when it comes to sharing our doubts or faith ‘wobbles’.
I think that saying “doubt is the opposite of faith” oversimplifies the biblical reality and can actually discourage people from being honest with God. Throughout the Bible, doubt and faith are often shown together in the same person’s experience—not as polar opposites but as part of a tension.
Think of:
The father in Mark 9:24: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” He has faith and doubt simultaneously, and Jesus doesn’t shame him—He responds with compassion and healing.
Thomas (John 20:24–29): his doubt doesn’t disqualify him. Jesus meets him where he is, gives him evidence, and draws him deeper.
Abraham (Romans 4:20): described as not wavering in faith, and yet Genesis shows his wrestle, questions, and even failed attempts to “help God out” time and again.
Perhaps a truer opposite of faith in the Bible isn’t doubt but unbelief (hard-hearted refusal to trust God). Doubt is more like the ache of faith under strain. Faith is continuing to lean on God, even while asking questions.
So instead of seeing doubt as the enemy of faith, it can actually be the soil in which faith grows deeper, provided we bring it to God rather than hide it. The Psalms are full of doubts voiced in prayer, and those very cries become acts of faith because they’re directed toward God, not away from Him.
Kudos to the leader when I suggested that maybe faith and doubt weren’t opposed. He agreed that it was more a slip of the tongue because it’s waaayyyyy more nuanced than that. We agreed that it’s more likely hard-heartedness / distrust, and fear that sit at the opposite end of faith.
Faith doesn’t mean the absence of questions.
Faith means choosing trust in the middle of questions.
Doubt can either push us away from God or drive us closer in desperate dependence. What matters is what we do with it.
When we returned to the UK from New Zealand my husband and I had just lived through the gnarly end of church hurt where, as the leaders, we’d felt pretty out on a limb. What this did to my faith, among other things, was highlight its fragility.
Because isn’t that just life? Faith feels fragile sometimes.
Life tests it. People let you down. God seems silent.
For some, it looks like sitting by a hospital bed praying for healing that never came. For others, it’s watching a marriage you fought for unravel despite your tears and prayers. Maybe it’s sending out CV after CV and wondering if God even notices the bills stacking up, or feeling invisible in a church community you thought would be family. It could be carrying unanswered prayers for a child you longed for, or waking up every morning to a fog of anxiety or depression and wondering why God hasn’t lifted it yet.
My raw wounds in that season made me doubt it was worth trusting God with emotionally showing up in church again. I’d poured out my life for our old community and it had ended so sadly with a small family of five losing their whole lives and trekking to the literal other side of the world to begin again.
But I didn’t just have to begin again, I needed to learn to believe again, too.
I needed to believe again that loving the church wasn’t a waste of time. I needed to believe again
That God had my back and I could trust Him
That there were good plans and purposes for me (even here…)
That even though it didn’t make sense, God was holding my hand and leading me forward.
Doubt ≠ Disqualification
Friends. It’s okay to question God. To ask Him hard things. To wrestle and wonder and worship with a wounded heart.
Doubt doesn’t disqualify you. In fact, it can often be an invitation to deeper intimacy and belief.
It’s a classic for a reason, but this verse has taken on deeper meaning to me over the past couple of years:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 ala the song version I learnt as a seven-year-old!
Too often we want to understand before we move.
We want clarity before conviction.
But God is often asking us to trust Him before we understand a situation. We might never understand why something sad or bad or maddening happens, but even there, even then, God is asking us to trust Him. To trust His character, His faithfulness, His presence with us.
More than understanding, faith is about unburdening.
More than clarity, faith is about responding to the calling.
More than surety, faith is about surrender.
So how do we believe again when we’ve been hurt, or our trust has been shaken? What do we do practically to return to a place of trusting and daring to step out in surrender?
Here’s three ways I believe can help us. It starts with a choice:
Heart posture: Choose to say “yes” with your heart, even when your mind still asks questions.
Permission: Give yourself permission to not have all the answers, that’s okay! God can handle your doubts.
Invitation: Choose again and again. Trust is a daily choice, not a one-time event. Each time the doubt rises, the wobble worries, or the fear erupts, tell God how you’re feeling. Confess (not say sorry, say it how it is) where you’re at, and ask Him to meet you there with “mercy, and… grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
Faith doesn’t have to feel strong to be real. Your fragility doesn't scare God, He honours honesty, and welcomes your wobbles.
Lord, we admit our faith can often feel fragile. We don’t always understand what You’re doing, but we choose to trust You. Hold us steady, strengthen our hearts, and draw us closer as we lean into You. Amen.
Let’s chat and grow together:
Where do you feel your faith is fragile right now, and how might God be inviting you to trust Him in that place?
Faith doesn’t mean never doubting — it means trusting God with your doubts. And when we dare to believe again, even shakily, He meets us there with mercy and strength.
Cheering you on,
Em 💛
P.S. Save the date for Office Hours with Em
I’ll be live in the Substack chat on Saturday 25th October at 6pm UK / 12pm CST / 1pm EST. Pop in for a chat, ask a question, or let me know how I can be praying for you.
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I'm 76 years old. My faith has been fragile many, many times over the years. But honesty with God is so comforting to me. I know He will never leave me or forsake me! I loved what you wrote, "Faith doesn’t have to feel strong to be real. " Thank you!
I love this. I jot down what I call “Ems” in my journal. This is a really good Em, doubt is more like the ache of faith under strain!