I used to think the form of faith that God loved was the type that never doubted, never questioned, never wavered. The kind that might recite Scripture confidently, at all times knew the right answer, and never felt afraid or confused. I believed faith was about certainty, about having all of it found out. I often compared my faith to others, considering I had too little, while that they had a lot.
But the faith that God loves is way messier than we frequently imagine. It’s the form of faith that shows up even when it’s shaking, asks questions even when it’s afraid of the answers, and keeps going even when it might probably’t see the trail ahead. It’s not a faith that has all of the answers—it’s the religion that keeps asking questions within the midst of it. But above all, it’s a faith that knows Jesus is the just one who can save, help, deliver, and heal.
God Loves Faith That “Doubts”
Think about Abraham. He is the daddy of our faith, but his story is marked by uncertainty, imperfection, and sin. When God called him to go away every little thing he knew for a destination he couldn’t see, Abraham went anyway. But in that, he also lied about his wife being his sister (twice), tried to satisfy God’s promise through his schemes, and laughed at God’s promise of a son in his old age.
His wasn’t perfect faith—it was real faith. It struggled, questioned, and sometimes failed, but ultimately trusted God enough to maintain moving forward, keep following, and keep believing. Abraham’s faith wasn’t about certainty but obedience and trust in uncertainty.
I’m often tempted to consider that real faith means never having doubts. So, I appreciate that Abraham’s faith was messy, imperfect, and sometimes blatantly incorrect. But it was also persistent, trusting, and ultimately willing to follow God anywhere.
Honestly, among the most faithful people in Scripture were also essentially the most questioning. Job demanded answers from God. David complained frequently. Jeremiah accused God of deceiving him. Habakkuk asked why God was silent within the face of injustice.
These weren’t failures of religion—they were wealthy expressions of it.
The faith that God loves is a faith that believes questions are a type of worship, a faith that brings doubts to God quite than attempting to resolve them on our own.
In fact, that is one of the vital liberating things about faith: it doesn’t require the absence of doubt or questions. It means showing up despite this stuff. Just as courage is not the absence of fear, it’s motion within the presence of fear, faith is not the absence of doubt.
I write about this story in lots of my books, but I often think in regards to the disciples within the storm on the Sea of Galilee. They were terrified, literally convinced they were going to die. Their faith didn’t prevent them from being afraid! But it did something much more powerful—it led them to run to Jesus. They did not have all of it found out, but they knew exactly who to show to after they were scared.
Or consider Peter walking on water. His faith didn’t prevent him from sinking when he checked out the waves—nevertheless it did cause him to cry out to Jesus for help.
Again, I take a lot comfort within the incontrovertible fact that scripture is filled with imperfect individuals with imperfect faith whom God utilized in extraordinary ways. Moses was a murderer and a reluctant leader. David was an adulterer and a poor father. Peter was impulsive and vulnerable to putting his foot in his mouth. Paul was a former persecutor of Christians.
None of those men had perfect faith, but all of them had persistent faith. They had faithful faith. They kept showing up, kept trusting, kept following God even after they tousled.
This gives me hope and luxury on the times when my faith feels small and inadequate. I do not have to have all of it found out to please God. I do not have to stop questioning God to prove my faith to God. I just should keep showing up, keep trusting, keep following Him even when the trail is not clear. And once I can’t? The Holy Spirit is there to assist, guide, and draw me back. We don’t should have faith on our own – God’s Spirit will embolden our faith, as we lean on him.
God Loves Faith That Embraces Mystery
The faith that God loves can also be comfortable with mystery. It doesn’t need to know every little thing to trust the One who does. It can live with unanswered questions, unresolved tensions, and incomplete understanding.
This is probably essentially the most difficult part of religion for individuals who prefer to have every little thing found out. We want to know God’s ways, predict His actions, and make sense of His timing. But faith often requires us to trust when we will not understand, consider when we will not see, and hope when we will not feel.
Some of essentially the most profound moments of our faith occur not when every little thing becomes clear, but when we decide to trust God in confusion. When we are saying, “I do not understand this, but I trust You anyway.”
God Loves Faith That Persists
Perhaps a very powerful characteristic of the religion that God loves is persistence. It’s a faith that keeps returning to Jesus, even in failure. It’s a faith that keeps searching for answers, keeps knocking on God’s door. It’s a faith that keeps selecting to trust. It’s the religion Jesus taught the disciples to have—a faith that prays with shameless audacity, tireless tenacity.
It’s the religion of the girl who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent every little thing she had searching for healing, and nothing had worked. But when she heard about Jesus, she pushed through the gang, risked public shame, and reached out to the touch his cloak. Her faith was borne from desperation—and a strong trust that this man, Jesus, was able.
That’s the form of faith that moves Jesus. A faith keeps reaching out even when it doesn’t understand. The faith that claims, “I do not know what else to do, but I do know You do.”
God Loves Faith That Transforms
The faith that God loves is not only about believing the suitable things, it’s not about mental assent—it’s about being transformed by what God’s presence, the Holy Spirit. It’s faith that enables God to vary how we live, how we love, how we reply to difficulty. It’s faith that makes us more like Jesus, not only more knowledgeable about Him. It’s not only faith in Jesus; it the religion of Jesus at work in us.
This form of faith doesn’t occur overnight. It’s formed through seasons of testing, trials, grief, loss, answered and unanswered prayers, moments of clarity, periods of confusion, risks, and trust. It’s developed through a long-term relationship with God.
On a private note, I are inclined to be drawn to individuals with what I call a gravitas form of faith – they’ve not had the best lives; they’ve borne pain. Yet, they’ve a resilient faith I love (and a faith God loves!), because they’ve discovered God’s faithfulness amid their struggles. Over the years, they’ve found His grace sufficient for his or her weaknesses. They have stayed faithful to God through the darkest valleys and located that it’s been his faith carrying all of them along.
The faith that God loves is the religion that keeps showing up. The faith asks questions and trusts the One who has the answers. It’s the religion that believes Jesus can do what he guarantees. It’s a faith that feels afraid but acts anyway.
It’s the religion that doubts but keeps believing. It’s the religion that claims, “Lord, I feel; help my unbelief.”
It’s not the religion that has all of it found out—it’s the religion that trusts the One who does.
Reflection Questions
- When has your faith felt most “messy” or imperfect, and the way did God meet you in that season?
- Consider a time if you struggled with doubt, asked difficult questions, or felt uncertain about God’s presence or purposes. How did that have shape your understanding of what authentic faith looks like?
- What questions on faith or God are you currently wrestling with, and the way might bringing those questions on to God in prayer deepen your relationship with Him?
- How has your understanding of religion modified from if you first became a Christian to now?
- What would it not mean so that you can embrace the form of faith that God loves?
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/ Austin Kehmeier
