DOUBTS AND FLUCTUATIONS IN FAITH

Why We Have Doubts & Fluctuations In Faith? Why Sometimes It Seems As If Faith Is Not There?

Message By Pastor Joseph Ziba

In the book of Romans 10 verses 13-14 & 17 the bible shows us that faith does not come by the Word of God but rather by the hearing of the Word of God not just hearing of anything. Faith is not knowledge; what you know doesn’t mean you have faith in it, you can know things but never have faith in them, the fact that you hear does not guarantee faith. Faith does not come by just mere hearing but when you hear and what you hear brings enlightenment in your spirit then it brings faith, if it is remains just mere hearing then it only brings knowledge or information not faith.

Faith never fails, the presence of faith brings results, if it doesn’t work then it is not faith but it is only knowledge.

In the bible there are four types of faith you will come across thus strong Faith (Romans 4:20), Weak Faith (Romans 14:1), Great Faith (Matthew 8:10) and Little Faith (Matthew 14:3). No matter what faith you have, its presence alone is enough for delivery; it will work and bring results.

When the bible says that you have little faith or weak faith is when you don’t have enough faith, you are full of knowledge and information while great faith or strong faith is when you have enough faith, you might not have much information and knowledge. But you must understand that delivers is faith not knowledge or information.

Any word from God comes with faith but it is up to us to get the knowledge or faith.

We see the story of the father of a child who had faith and that is why he looked for Jesus, but when Jesus told him to believe he found himself in a state where he was not sure whether he was believing or not (Mark 9:20-24), he was found at a place of unbelief. Unbelief is a spirit that stops one to believe, you can have faith yes, but it makes you not to believe like on Mark 16:14 we see that the disciples did not believe that Jesus was risen hence they had faith but that the spirit of unbelief came on them and made them not to believe in a certain area like here that he will rise again. The danger with the spirit of unbelief is that when it stops you from believing an any area like that God can prosper or heal you then it bring the hardness of heart in you that you cannot be told anything in that area. On that story of the father on Mark 9:20-24, the father of the child found himself in a position where he didn’t know whether he was believing or not. At this place it is called Double-Minded or Doubt; it is a place where you are trying to distinguish or judge two opinions. You must understand that in the Kingdom of God it is not democracy where when God speaks you can have a room to distinguish with what your mind is saying if that which God says is making sense but rather it is autocracy; we follow whatever God says. Whatever God says we take it and we don’t create a room of distinguishing in our spirit whether it is making sense or not.

We also see other story on Matthew 14:29-31 when the disciples were in the boat and Jesus came while walking on the water and when they saw him, Peter asked Jesus to allow him to come there and when he was in the boat he was looking at one opinion that was what Jesus said to him and he went into the water but when he opened another eye to another opinion that is boisterous wind on the sea he started distinguishing the opinions (doubting) and he moved from the place of faith and wanted help.

The danger of standing in doubt (place of distinguishing two opinions thus natural opinion and faith) is that the natural opinion wins always over faith (Spiritual opinion) and then you train yourself to listen more to natural opinions than spiritual. Every time you lose faith and you go to natural opinions fear shows up and also you begin to complain and worry.

In the book of James verses 6 to 8 it says that when you are asking God something, ask without doubt, double minded, and come look to him alone and not having other opinions at the back of you, if you come to God with two opinions, he doesn’t give you anything. God withdraws where you want to mix him with anything. A double minded person is always unstable in his ways. If God sees one opinion in you, anything is possible with you (Mark 11:23). God wants to be the only choice you have nothing else for he has come to take the rule of your life, and declares that he doesn’t  share his glory with any one (Isaiah 42:8), so stand on your faith.

Dealing with Doubts and Fluctuations in Faith

You can know something but not have faith in it, but you can have little knowledge on something but have faith in it. Faith is not knowledge, having knowledge is not having faith.

On Mark 16:14 we see men who were all believers (disciples of Jesus), that is why they were gathering together still after the death of Jesus, but the spirit of unbelief came in them not that they completely stopped believing but only in the area that Jesus will rise again. Even though you are a believer, unbelief can come on you in an area and it makes you harden your heart in that area. Hardening of heart is the closing up of spiritual senses.

Experiences sometimes brings the unbelief, just because you have suffered a long time, you develop hardness of heart in that area like carrying sickness for long time it makes one doubt if God really heals but don’t let your experiences to harden your heart.

The danger of hardening your heart is that you move from perfect will of God and start to walk in the allowable will (where God just allow you) of God (Matthew 19:1-8). You can see that God did not give the people of the Old Testament the glory like us now because they were walking in just the allowable will not perfect will of God. For your own information the Holy Ghost will not convict you if you harden your heart in the areas that does not concern your salvation (areas which are for the enjoyable Christian life like you give to God so that God can prosper you) but in areas concerning salvation even if you harden your heart he will still convict you.

Wrong understanding also makes you harden your heart like some people say I don’t give because I was disappointed (disappointed with who?), don’t let minor things disappoint you and make you harden your heart. When you have a weak point in your life, the devil uses it as his door to make you fall. Don’t be offended and disappointed when it comes to service of God.

In the book of James 1 verse 6-7 we see that a doubter is moved into every direction by anything and he lacks ability to decide what will work for him, when you don’t believe what will work in your life, you don’t receive anything from the LORD. We also see this on Luke 9:62 that a man who is not decided or who doubts is not fit or worthy for the Kingdom of God. A doubter doesn’t make a decision on his own, he is convinced by opinions and he doesn’t know what is good. The bible on Ephesians 4:14 says that an infant (a child or baby in spirit) is carried to and fro, he is carried by everything showing that doubt comes due to immaturity, it says that “they lie in wait to deceive(KJV)” meaning that they devise a way to catch people. That is what the devil wants, he wants to move faith of people from God to some things.

Pastor Joseph Ziba Ministering

On Hebrews 5:13-14 we see that if you are mature, you discern or analyze where the opinion is coming from and what is good to believe. The entrance of God’s word gives light (Psalms 119:130) and when you have light; you don’t walk in darkness (Place of uncertainties). God’s word brings understanding to the simple (fools, babies). The word of God changes the simple, it gives him understanding (Proverbs 7:7).

We also see on Proverbs 14:15 that the simple (babies in spirit) follow everything around the corner of the street but the wide or prudent (mature) look where he is going showing us that we deal with doubt by Maturing.

We deal with doubts and fluctuations in faith by maturing.

Compiled By Allastone R. Maluwa