Wrestling With Doubt: Finding Faith — Full Service | September 20th, 2026

Doubt starts with a question that can feel logical and deeply personal: does God exist? Thomas wanted to see and feel before he believed, and that makes sense when no one had ever come back from the dead before. Doubt wants proof, confirmation, something solid to hold onto when the questions do not go away.

Doubt, though, can only gnaw when it has something to gnaw on. The chipmunk image gets at how doubt keeps working at a person, gnawing and gnawing, but it also points to a kernel of faith already there. Faith also gnaws. Faith nudges, encourages, and keeps pulling a person toward God even before that person knows what to call it.

Prevenient grace names that early work of God. God keeps working on people before they understand what they believe, before they accept God, and sometimes before they even realize God is there. The question of God’s existence may be theological, but it also reaches into the heart, where confidence can come and go.

The Psalm writer stands with deep confidence before the Creator of the universe. Mark’s father stands somewhere many people recognize more easily: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” That prayer holds belief and uncertainty together without pretending that faith must always feel complete.

Science gives many answers about what and how, but science does not settle the who or the why. The order and beauty of a butterfly’s wing, a galaxy’s spiral arms, and life itself can leave a person wondering whether order came from Someone who first put the pieces together. Logic may be compelling, but logic by itself does not always warm the heart.

John Wesley had plenty of God knowledge in his head before his heart was “strangely warmed.” Faith sometimes comes through an argument, but it often becomes real through an encounter, a quiet assurance, or a moment when God reaches a person beneath the surface. God does not always offer light, voices, fireworks, or a bridge that suddenly appears over the chasm.

The Israelites had to step into the rushing river before God stopped it. Faith takes a first step, not because people can force God to prove anything, but because relationship requires trust. Even great signs did not keep Israel from drifting away, and even Mother Teresa kept serving through years when God felt silent.

The question may finally need to shift. God’s existence matters, but the deeper question may be, “Do I believe?” Faith asks what life would look like without God, and what life might become if people paid attention to the ways God has been trying to speak all along.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Doubt needs a kernel of faith [33:45] Doubt is not always the opposite of faith. The very fact that doubt gnaws can mean that something real is already present beneath the questions. Faith may be smaller than a person wants, but God can work with a kernel. [33:45]
• 2. Faith also keeps gnawing [34:08] Faith does not merely sit quietly waiting for certainty. Faith nudges a person toward prayer, attention, trust, and relationship with God. Prevenient grace means God may be at work long before a person can explain what is happening. [34:08]
• 3. “Help my unbelief” is honest prayer [37:10] Mark’s father does not fake a confidence he does not have. His prayer holds belief and need together before Jesus. God receives a faith that is unfinished, struggling, and still asking for help. [37:10]
• 4. God often waits for the step [45:32] The river stopped after Israel stepped into it. Faith is not blind confidence that everything will be easy, but trust that God meets people as they move toward obedience. A person may not see the bridge until the foot comes down. [45:32]
• 5. Silence does not cancel faithfulness [47:50] Mother Teresa continued the work God gave her even when she no longer felt God’s presence. Feelings can be precious, but they cannot be the only foundation for faith. God’s earlier call can remain true through long seasons of silence.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [29:41] - Does God Exist?
• [30:23] - Doubting Thomas and the Need for Proof
• [31:09] - Wrestling with Doubt and Faith
• [33:27] - When Doubt Gnaws
• [34:29] - Prevenient Grace
• [36:14] - The Psalm Writer’s Confidence
• [37:10] - Lord, Help My Unbelief
• [38:11] - Science, Order, and the Creator
• [42:34] - A Heart Strangely Warmed
• [44:08] - Taking the First Step of Faith
• [46:36] - Proof, Silence, and Faithfulness
• [51:26] - Are People Paying Attention?
• [52:13] - Shifting the Question to Belief

Bible Reading

Mark 9:24
“The father instantly cried out, ‘I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’” [29:48]

John 20:24-29
“One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he replied, ‘I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.’ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!’ ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.’” [30:23]

Joshua 3:14-17
“So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho. Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord's Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.” [45:32]

Psalm 19:1
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.” [36:32]

Observation questions

1. What did Thomas say he needed before he would believe that Jesus had risen, and what did Jesus later invite him to do? [30:35]
2. In Mark 9:24, what two things does the father say in the same prayer, and what does that show about his faith at that moment? [37:19]
3. According to Joshua 3:14-17, when did the Jordan River stop flowing—before or after the priests stepped into the water? [45:35]
4. What parts of creation were named as examples of beauty and order that can lead people to wonder about a Creator? [39:29]

Interpretation questions

1. Thomas wanted physical proof, yet Jesus called him to believe. What does this passage suggest about the difference between honestly asking questions and refusing to trust Jesus? [30:41]
2. The father in Mark asks Jesus to help his unbelief while still calling Jesus “Lord.” Why might this be an honest and faithful prayer for someone whose confidence in God feels incomplete? [37:43]
3. The priests had to enter a rushing river before they saw dry ground. What might Joshua 3 teach about why faith sometimes involves obedience before a person has all the reassurance desired? [45:42]
4. Psalm 19 sees God’s glory in creation, while science helps explain many parts of the world. How can creation lead a person beyond questions of “how” toward questions of “who” and “why”? [40:41]

Application questions

1. Where does doubt seem to gnaw at you right now: God’s existence, God’s goodness, prayer, suffering, the Bible, or something else? Could that ongoing question also reveal a small kernel of faith that is still reaching toward God? [33:54]
2. What would it look like for you to pray Mark 9:24 honestly this week? Is there a specific area where you can say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief”?
3. Faith can nudge a person before that person fully understands what God is doing. What gentle nudge toward God have you noticed recently—through a conversation, Scripture, creation, worship, a need, or a quiet inner pull? [34:29]
4. Is there a next step of trust that you have delayed because you want more certainty first? What might a wise, faithful first step look like—not a reckless leap, but a real act of obedience? [45:42]
5. When God feels silent, what practices can help you remain faithful instead of assuming that God has abandoned you? Who could help you stay connected to God during that season? [47:46]
6. What are you looking for as “proof” from God, and might you be overlooking quieter ways God has already been speaking or working in your life? What could help you pay better attention this week? [51:28]
7. Instead of only asking, “Does God exist?” consider the question, “Do I believe?” What difference would deeper trust in God make in one ordinary part of your life this week—at home, at work, in a relationship, or in a decision? [52:22]