When Your Faith Is Wavering
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4
One of the biggest lies I believed early on in my faith journey was that my faith in God had to be perfect. Any time my faith wavered or doubt crept in, I immediately felt like I had failed or disappointed God. I felt guilty at the thought of even questioning God or wondering where He was in the midst of my circumstances.
But over the years as I continued to grow in my relationship with the Lord and dig into His Word, I began to see that I was not the only one whose faith was sometimes on shaky ground.
One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Psalms. Many of the chapters in this book were written by King David, famously known as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). But as you read through the Psalms, you’ll notice that David’s faith wasn’t perfect. In fact, there are multiple passages in Psalms where David is expressing his questions, his uncertainty, and his doubt. He asks more than once, “God, where are you?” as he struggles to figure out if God has forgotten him (Psalm 13:1).
Throughout the book of Psalms, we learn that the journey with God is not always smooth sailing. We wish it was, but it’s not. These passages of Scripture show us that life is a series of ups and downs, good times and bad times. And when life takes a turn for the worst, it can be easy for us to doubt if things will ever turn back around. We can sometimes too quickly begin to lose faith that God can redeem our situation, especially when our circumstances aren’t pointing in the direction of redemption.
Thankfully, the Psalms also give us comfort, peace, and hope in the midst of these times when we are overcome with doubt and skepticism. Psalm 23:4 is one of many verses that reminds us of God’s presence and sovereignty in every aspect of life. The verse says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Even when our circumstances try to steal our hope, we can find comfort in the fact that our hope comes from the Lord. Even when what we’re waiting for seems so far out of reach, we can trust that waiting for the Lord is never in vain. Even when it feels like God is taking forever to fulfill His promises, we can be confident that He always keeps His word.
Are you struggling to have faith in the midst of a tough time? Have you been waiting for what seems like forever for God to come through for you? If that’s you, friend, don’t give up hope now. Don’t lose faith. Instead, pray and ask the Lord to give you the strength to keep hoping, to keep believing, and to keep trusting that His plan and purpose for you will prevail. And remind yourself, just like David did time and time again, that even when your faith wavers, God’s faithfulness never does.