What Does the Bible Say About Doubt? Mark 11:23
A lone man stands on rocky terrain facing a massive snow-covered mountain beneath a bright blue sky. Text reads, “Speak to the Mountain: Why Jesus Said You Should,” with the Light on Life Podcast logo.
So this week we are continuing our trek through Mark eleven and now we come to Jesus’ statement on doubt: whosoever shall say unto this mountain be removed and cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart. Doubt. What is it? How does it get into your heart? And how do you know when it’s there? Jesus said you could speak to the mountain, believe what you say, and have what you say—but right in the middle of all that, He said, “and shall not doubt in his heart.” So doubt matters. You don’t want to be the man standing at the bridge—forward, backward, forward, backward—stuck on the land of no-progress. You want to know God’s Word, believe God’s Word, and move forward on God’s Word. So today, we’re going to find out what doubt is, where it lives, how it gets in, and what to do about it when it shows up. So, grab your Bible and let’s hunt down some Bible truths on the subject of doubt. What Does the Bible Say About Doubt? — That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.
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This Week: Discover what the Bible says about doubt and why sticking with the Word keeps you from wavering when circumstances demand your attention.
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Accept the Challenge
Get Your Eyes Back on the Word
Doubt gets you looking in two directions. Peter had the Word from Jesus, and as long as he acted on that Word, he walked on water. But when he gave the circumstance his consideration, he began to sink.
This week, identify an area where circumstances have been competing with what God said. Go back to the Scripture that covers your case. Read it. Think on it. Settle it in your heart. Then let your words agree with God's Word instead of the circumstance.
Scripture:
Matthew 14:31 (KJV) — “And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Remember: Stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
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Each week's podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believers life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week's question:
Join This Conversation
Question:
Where are you being tempted to give the circumstance your consideration instead of keeping your attention on God's Word?
Share:
What Scripture are you standing on, and what are you doing to keep that Word before you when doubt tries to pull you in another direction?
Remember:
Peter went from walking to sinking when his consideration shifted to the circumstance. Stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
About Emery and Sharon
For nearly five decades, Emery has devoted his life to helping people grow in Christ through the power of the Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Together with his wife, Sharon — his partner in life and ministry for 44 years — he equipped believers to live Spirit-filled, practical lives of faith.
At the heart of the mission is this: helping believers apply God's words so faith becomes active and unstoppable.
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Podcast Notes:
Well, again, welcome.
Let’s pray.
Father God, thank you for giving us truth on the subject of doubt. Help us to see it and know it so we won’t be trapped by it. We give you all the praise for this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
From Faith to Doubt: What Jesus Said Next
Mark 11:23 (KJV) — 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Last time, we looked at Jesus’ words in Mark 11:22: “Have faith in God.”
Jesus plainly tells you what God’s will is—have faith in God.
And that faith must be constant.
That means constantly in the Word.
Continually hearing the Word.
Believing the report of God’s Word without interruption.
It means continually acting like the Word is true.
Have a faith that speaks.
Then Jesus said, “Whosoever shall say unto this mountain.
Whosoever means you.
You can say to the mountain.
Find Scripture that covers your case.
Work with these Scriptures until you believe them in your heart.
Let your speech agree with God.
It’s always Word first.
But now notice something else Jesus said in Mark 11:23: “and shall not doubt in his heart.”
We’ve looked at faith.
We’ve looked at believing.
We’ve looked at speaking.
But what about doubt?
What does the Bible say about doubt?
That’s what we want to look at today.
What Does It Mean to Doubt?
We will start right out by defining the word ‘doubt.’
What is doubt?
How do I know if I’m doubting?
How do I deal with doubt?
With all these questions, we can see that this is a vital word to understand and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word ’doubt’ diakrinō describes the person who is uncertain or at odds with oneself.
It is translated as doubt, or waver.[1. William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 231.]
Doubt means to waver between positions.
The ‘doubter’ is a person who is having a dispute within themselves.
Here lies the main difference between faith and doubt.
Doubt is uncertain. Faith is not.
When a person has faith, he is not at odds with himself.
He does not have this ping-pong back and forth internal conflict.
Here’s a man standing at a bridge, wondering whether it will support him.
“It looks strong enough.”
He steps forward.
“But what if it collapses?”
He steps back.
He thinks, “Others have crossed safely.”
He moves forward again.
“But what if it gives way with me on it?”
He stops.
That’s doubt. And the result?
No progress towards the destination.
We’re stuck on the land of ‘no-progress.’
You must believe the bridge will hold to go forward.
Did you notice the favorite words of the doubter—‘what if.’
“What if it happens—what if it doesn’t happen?”
We continue on this vein, flopping like a carp on dry ground.
We exchange ‘know so’ for think so, hope so, and maybe so.
What a wishy-washy affair.
All of this vacillating goes on within the heart of the doubter.
Stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
In the Jesus life, it works this way.
“I know I am saved.”
“Well, maybe I’m not, I sinned.”
“I mean if I was saved, I wouldn’t be having sinful thoughts?”
“Right? So, maybe I’m not.”
“Yes, but the Bible said.” - “Yeah, but I don’t feel saved.”
We then take action on this bit of doubt because we want to cover our bases.
We have to be sure.
So, we go back to the altar and rededicate.
This is the woeful life of a waverer.
And, it extends to all areas.
I prayed—did God hear me?
Do I really have faith?
Did I put what I believed into motion the right way?
What if the mountain doesn’t move when I speak to it?
What if—on and on.
A conversation about a sickness may go something like this.
“I prayed a prayer for healing.”
“That’s great, thank God you are healed.”
“Yeah, but, I don’t feel any better.”
“Did God hear you?”
“I think He did—maybe He didn’t.”
“I think I need to pray more.”
“Maybe I need to get more people praying.”
“Maybe I’ll hit up my social media friends and hopefully this will go viral.”
Wouldn’t it be better to know the Word for yourself and live it fearlessly?
Wouldn’t it be so much better to cling tenaciously to God’s Word just because He said you could?
Real Bible faith bypasses all this tossing to and fro.
Did God hear me?—of course He did.
He always hears the cry of faith.
We act like God has a hearing aid and it wasn’t turned up.
Do I really have faith?
Of course you do.
You’re saved, aren’t you?
If you are, faith is how you became a child of God.
What if I speak to my mountain and it doesn’t move?
I wouldn’t say that for anything in the world—you just got through calling Jesus a liar.
Matthew 24:35 (NASB 2020)— 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Now don’t let the answer to your prayer be delayed because that’s when the contingency plans come out.
And sometimes we even waver about those.
Is this the life you want to live?
How about standing your ground and seeing the salvation of God?
You see the doubter keeps weighing the possibilities, instead of settling on the solution—God’s Word.
Does this remind you of Proverbs 3:5–6?
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NASB 2020) — 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
The waverer trusts—if you can call it that—but instead of trusting with ALL his heart, he leans.
The path he walks is uncertain.
He shifts between trust and doubt.
All that does is split the road wide open so you end up falling in a hole.
Again, no progress.
That’s the world of the waverer.
The Home of Doubt
Notice what Jesus said, ‘and shall not doubt IN HIS HEART.’
And with that thought, here is the Question of the Day.
Why did Jesus say ‘and doubt not in his heart’ instead of and shall doubt in his head?
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB 2020) — 12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Spirit and soul are integrated.
The Word of God is able to divide spirit and soul, meaning they can’t be the same.
But, that doesn’t mean that they function separately.
No, they function together.
But, the Word of God has the ability to distinguish between what originates in the heart versus what originates in the soul.
You can illustrate how spirit and soul are joined by looking at an MRI of your arm.
Your arm has parts that work together: capillaries, arteries, bone, cartilage, skin, etc.
The MRI can identify the parts, but, the parts work together—that’s spirit and soul.
Jeremiah gives us a ‘digital-photo’, might we say, of the distinctness of spirit and soul.
Jeremiah 17:9–10 (NASB 2020) — 9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? 10 “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, To give to each person according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
The Lord searches the heart and tests the mind—two separate operations.
You see this same spirit-soul paring in the Psalms.
Psalm 139:23–24 (NASB 2020) — 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
So, what’s going on in your heart today?
Is doubt fluttering like a butterfly?
Causes of Doubt: A Ghost Story from Galilee
One of the most insightful accounts of doubt on display is found in the book of Matthew, chapter fourteen.
Matthew 14:22–25 (KJV) — 22 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
A full day was broken into two twelve hour parts.
The night was broken into four parts called watches - each three hours.
So, the fourth watch of the night was between 3 AM—6AM.
Matthew 14:26 (KJV) — 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
Now the time brings a question that must be asked.
How could they see anything at 3 AM—it’s dark at that time of day and they were looking in the face of a severe storm?
Even if this occurred towards the end of the fourth watch, it’s still with waves crashing, and flipping upside down.
How does anyone see anything?
Was Jesus walking in the glory?
Was there radiated light coming off His being like at the Transfiguration?
Only the Lord knows but what we do know is that whatever they saw scared them into next week.
The Scripture says that the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea.
And it troubled the disciples.
Matthew’s word ’troubled,’ tarassō gives us the picture of one who is frightened, or intensely startled.
You could say ‘scared stiff or shaking in their sandals’ and you wouldn’t lose any mileage.
Now forget about seeing Jesus—the disciples thought they saw a ghost.
How do we know that?
The Greek for spirit here is not the normal word ‘pneuma’ used for the Holy Spirit or the human spirit.
Now the ’spirit’ here is phantasma phantom or ghost.
Now why would ‘ghost’ be the disciples’ default conclusion?
One possibility? Some Galilean fishermen told ghost stories.
Superstitious cultural beliefs had it that ghosts roamed over the lake of Galilee, particularly at night, and fishermen would have only continued to fish after dark if they were desperate.[2. Roger S. Busse and Stephen J. Patterson, Jesus, Resurrected: Risk Analysis and Recovery of Nine Post-Crucifixion Encounters with Jesus in the Contemporary Setting of First-Century Palestine and Haunted Galilee (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2017).]
They thought, “There is danger ‘in them waters.’”
These fishermen felt that the lake was a refuge for demons and evil forces.
Storms on the Sea of Galilee could occur anytime, any day and become violent within minutes.
Those swift changes were blamed on the dark powers of the nether-world who were seeking to capture the souls of those who drowned.[3. ibid]
Now these weren’t casual superstitions but deeply held convictions that shaped people’s daily behavior and risk assessment.
Whether the disciples believed all this or not, we don’t know.
But what we do know is that they thought they saw a ghost and screamed out for fear.
Two Commandments With Jesus in the Middle
The scene continues to unfold.
Matthew 14:27 (KJV) — 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Straightway is KJV language for immediately or right away.
The word highlights how quickly Jesus responded to their fear.
Jesus never wants you to be fearful—never.
His voice calmed their fears.
And the words that brought that calm—‘be of good cheer.’
Again, this is KJV language and, the meaning in Greek, is nothing like we understand ‘good cheer’ to mean.
Good cheer to us is happiness—it’s being joyful—you know, having a smile on your face.
That’s why we define the word from the original language instead of allowing the culture of the seventeenth century to tell us what the word means.
So, here we go—the words ‘be of good cheer’ tharseō carries the idea of being firm, resolute, or confident in the face of danger or adverse circumstances.
The words are in commandment form.
Look at Jesus’ words to His disciples: they are facing a life-threatening situation and Jesus says be strong—be resolute—be confident.
In other words, this is no time to put on a chicken suit.
Jesus’ response strikes right at the heart of doubt.
Why? Because people look at the storm instead of the living Word.
The individual who doubts is anything but resolute.
His heart is fainting—that’s why he is wavering.
Where is the firmness of conviction?
It’s out the window—nowhere to be found.
Next, Jesus gives you the reason why you can have such confidence.
Matthew 14:27 (KJV) —… it is I; be not afraid.
The words “It is I” translates to “I AM He.”
And the words ‘I AM’ ought to ring a bell.
“Before Abraham was, I AM,” Jesus said.
‘I AM’ is the fundamental expression of God.
Exodus 3:13–14 (NASB 2020) — 13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
The great I AM says to the disciples and to you—Be firm, determined and unwavering—I will never leave or forsake you.
The familiarity of Jesus’ voice infused courage into the hearts of some weary fishermen for they knew what the Master could do.
Now the next part, the fear part is what you must pay attention to.
It is I, be not afraid.
Be not afraid is a commandment.
Jesus here is calling for an immediate end to their frightened, apprehensive state.
In other words, Jesus is saying, ‘Knock it off, stop, quit—don’t do it anymore.’
So altogether, you have these words: Be resolute—I AM—don’t be frightened.
Two commandments with Jesus in the middle.
‘Be resolute’ is a commandment and so is ‘don’t be afraid.’
You obey that, you have Jesus right in the middle of your circumstance.
Stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
Now, we get to the juicy part of the story and how doubt enters in.
Peter’s Walk on the Wild Side
Matthew 14:28 (KJV) — 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Check out Peter’s reaction.
He called Jesus Lord.
Peter responds to Jesus’ I AM declaration.
Jesus has just commanded them to be resolute and not to fear.
And Peter calls Him Lord.
So, Peter is past the ghost thing.
It’s the Lord.
Peter says, “If it be you bid me come.”
The you is emphatic—hear it that way—YOU.
YOU bid me come.
What was Peter asking?
He was asking for a commandment.
The Lord just gave Peter two of them: be unwavering and do not fear.
Now, Peter wants a third.
You must get the sense of this.
Peter didn’t say to Jesus, ‘Pretty please can I get out on the water’ or ‘Lord, let me do that.’
NO, he said to Jesus, “Command me.”
Give me a commandment.
Give me an order.
Give me your Word.
You can act on the Word—You can act on Jesus’ Word.
Peter heard Jesus command unclean spirits to come out—that’s Mark 1:27.
He heard Jesus command the winds and the sea and there was a great calm—that’s Matthew 8:26.
Jesus responds—He always responds to faith.
Now, you have to love Peter.
He has these lucid moments of a faith giant.
And, he has these other moments where you wonder, “What in the world are you doing, man?”
Now something you should know about the word ‘Come’ that Jesus used to Peter.
The word is, once again, a commandment and a forceful one at that.
The word ‘Come’ demands immediate obedience.
It’s the same word the Centurion, who came to Jesus to heal his servant used when describing his own Roman authority.
Matthew 8:9 (NASB 2020) — 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
The word ’Come’ [erchomai] when spoken by someone with power, compels a response.
This is no longer just an invitation or a suggestion.
Jesus’ COME puts Peter on the clock.
The ball is in your court, Pete—what are you going to do now?
Matthew 14:29 (KJV) — 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
Peter jumped out of the boat and WALKED ON WATER.
If you have the command of Jesus, you can walk on top of any problem you have.
Notice, Peter walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
His focus was on Jesus.
Peter’s Double Vision: Why It Never Works
Matthew 14:30 (KJV) — 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
Okay, so get the picture now and understand how doubt creeps in.
Peter is walking on the water.
He’s doing it, you understand.
Everything is working.
Peter steps out on the Word.
The Word is working.
It always works when you work it.
But Peter exhibits a ‘double-vision’ problem.
He’s walking toward Jesus—looking right at Him—and he shifts his focus away from Jesus, away from the Word to the circumstance.
But when he saw the wind…
The word ’saw’ [blepō] means to process information by giving consideration[4. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 348.]
The switch in focus caused a change to Peter’s situation—he started sinking.
He processed the information that the natural world gave him and considered it.
And when he did, he began his descent.
When you shift your focus away from the Word, you begin to sink.
Do the commandment of Jesus—do what the Word says—and you will ride on the waves of circumstance.
As soon as Peter shifted his focus and saw the wind, he became frightened.
Here ‘fear’ is mentioned again—this is now the third time.
The disciples feared when they saw Jesus.
Jesus told them not to fear.
Peter saw the effects of the wind and he became frightened.
You will always become fearful if you look away from Jesus.
If you sense fear from without, speak to it.
If you sense fear from within, go back to the Word and focus on it.
Deal with fear like you deal with the mountain—speak to it.
Fear is an indicator.
Double vision never works.
Now Peter did the wisest thing anyone sinking could do.
He cried out WHEN HE BEGAN SINKING.
Not after he almost drowned with only the proverbial one finger showing above the water.
No, as soon as he began to sink.
Why wait if you’re going down?
Obviously, something is not working.
It’s not the Word that’s not working—Peter walked on the water.
Everything was working just fine as long as he had the commandment of Jesus and locked his focus on it.
Now, when we come to the Prayer of Believing that You Receive, this is crucial.
Do not allow a mental picture of failure to exist in your mind.
Answer every image, every thought, every faithless word that comes out of family or friends.
Answer it with the Word.
Do not allow doubt to dwell in your heart or your mind.
Speak to it.
Deal with it.
Never ignore it.
Stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
Jesus Is Always Right On Time
Now, Jesus was so merciful.
Matthew 14:31 (KJV) — 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
The response of Jesus to Peter’s cry was immediate.
Always know that He is right there with you to save you.
You never have to ‘go down with the ship’ when Jesus is your captain.
So, Jesus stretches out His hand and catches Peter.
How long was the stretch?—enough to get the job done.
When He reaches His hand towards you, life change will be the result.
And, now the finale—the statement we’ve been working toward in this podcast.
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Notice the connection Jesus makes between little faith and doubt.
Jesus didn’t say Peter had no faith.
Peter had faith—he walked on water.
But then he doubted.
Why did you doubt, Peter?—why did you hesitate?
You see, doubt compromised the faith he had.
He went from walking to sinking.
That’s what doubt does.
Little faith keeps you stuck in place—but strong faith creates the movement for success.
Which would you rather have?
The answer is obvious.
Stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
Doubt Is Out—The Word Is In
Doubt doesn’t have to run your life.
Stop living in the world of “what if.”
Find the Word that covers your case and settle on it.
When circumstances start talking, don’t give them your consideration.
When fear comes from without, speak to it.
When fear rises from within, go back to the Word and focus on it.
Answer every image, every thought, every faithless word with the Word.
Don’t allow doubt to dwell in your heart or your mind.
Speak to it.
Deal with it.
Never ignore it.
Stay with the Word—don’t give the circumstance your consideration.
Call to Action
Where does doubt try to get you into double vision?
Where are you tempted to look at the circumstance instead of the Word?
Go back to what God said.
Settle it in your heart.
Let your speech agree with God.
If Jesus said, come—that means you can.
Peter had the Word and walked on water.
When he gave the circumstance his consideration, he went from walking to sinking.
Stick with the Word—don’t Waver.
If this podcast helped you, consider sharing it with others.
You’ll find the Companion Study Guide and Teacher’s Guide for this episode on the Episode Resources page at emeryhorvath.com, as well.
Use those resources to go back through the Scriptures we covered today and get these truths down in your heart.
And remember the title of today’s podcast: “What Does the Bible Say About Doubt?"
So, stick with the Word—Don’t Waver.
And join me next week as we continue looking at the Prayer of Believing that You Receive.
We’re going to continue talking about doubt—because doubt will torpedo your prayer life.
There’s more for us to see—so tune in.
You guys have a great God week, and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.
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If “What the Bible Says About Doubt?” encouraged you, don’t miss “Why It’s Essential To Operate In God’s Stunning Wisdom”—discover why God’s wisdom matters when circumstances challenge what you believe and how looking to His Word keeps you from leaning on your own understanding.
Visit the Episode →References
- William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 231. ↩︎
- Roger S. Busse and Stephen J. Patterson, Jesus, Resurrected: Risk Analysis and Recovery of Nine Post-Crucifixion Encounters with Jesus in the Contemporary Setting of First-Century Palestine and Haunted Galilee (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2017). ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 348. ↩︎