Andrew Schroer

It had to hurt hearing those words. On at least four separate occasions, Jesus spoke them to his disciples.

As they foolishly fell apart in the middle of storms or worriedly wondered whether they would have enough food to eat, Jesus would shake his head.

“You of little faith,” he would ask, “Why did you doubt?”

As I read the exploits of the disciples in the Bible, I find myself wondering the same thing. I mean, they saw Jesus’ miracles. They saw him walk on water, heal the sick, and raise the dead. How could they still waver? How could they still doubt?

Why didn’t they have more faith?

But then again, you and I have seen God’s hand powerfully provide. When we look back on our lives, we can see how he has, in one way or another, always gotten us through every hard time. Few of us have ever had even one day in our lives in which we didn’t have food to eat, clothes to wear, or a place to sleep.

And yet we stress in the storms of life. We worry and wonder when the bills pile up. We struggle with depression and anxiety.

What is anxiety, but fear? What is fear, but doubt?

Every time we lie awake at night, worried and stressed about our jobs or money, our families or health, Jesus shakes his head and says, “You of little faith, why do you doubt?”

Sadly, some Christians today think that the solution to the littleness of our faith is for us to turn inward – to focus our attention on our faith or the lack thereof. They constantly talk about your faith. They point you to your faith.

“If only you have more faith,” they say, “You can move mountains. And if the mountains of your life don’t move, it’s because you don’t have enough faith.”

I call that “belly button watching.” If you walk around staring at your belly button, what happens? You run into walls. You bang your head. You get run over by a truck.

The solution to the littleness of our faith – the way to deal with doubt – is not to look at ourselves. The solution is to look up.

Think of Peter when he walked on water. As long as Peter looked at Jesus, he was fine. But then he looked at the wind and the waves. He looked down at his feet. He thought to himself, “I can’t walk on water.”

And splash. Down he went.

Look up. See Jesus. Look at his promises. Remember how he walked on water and calmed storms, how he healed the sick and raised the dead, how he lived, died, and rose again for you. What do you have to fear? What do you have to worry about?

Faith isn’t about looking inward. It’s about looking upward and outward. It’s about looking to Jesus. Seeing what he has done and promises to do for us is what strengthens and solidifies our faith.

So, when you find yourself floundering in your faith – when you’re dealing with doubt – don’t look at the mirror and think, “I need to fix this. I need to be better.”

Look up. Open your Bible. Go to church. Take Holy Communion. See what Jesus has done and promises to do for you.

That’s how God grows and strengthens our little faith.