Bible Verses for When You're Struggling to Trust God

When belief and unbelief live in the same heart

For when you believe and don't believe at the same time, and you're tired of pretending otherwise.

• "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

  Mark 9:24

  The most honest prayer in the Gospels, and Jesus honored it. He did not ask the father to resolve the contradiction first — he healed the boy.

• "And of some have compassion, making a difference:"

  Jude 1:22

  The church's instruction about doubters is not 'correct them' or 'remove them.' It is 'have compassion.' That includes how you treat the doubter in the mirror.

• "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

  Isaiah 1:18

  God invites the argument. He does not ask you to stop thinking in order to belong to him — he asks you to bring the thinking to him.

• "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

  James 1:5

  Without finding fault. Your questions do not annoy him. Ask, and ask again — the door does not wear out.

When God feels far away

For the silence — when prayers feel like they stop at the ceiling.

• "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?"

  Psalm 22:1

  This is in the Bible — a prayer of feeling abandoned, preserved as Scripture. Jesus prayed it from the cross. Feeling forsaken is not the same as being forsaken.

• "How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?"

  Psalm 13:1

  David asked 'how long' four times in two verses — and the psalm ends in trust. The questions and the trust were in the same prayer. Yours can be too.

• "The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth."

  Psalm 145:18

  In truth. Not in polished words, not in the right mood — in truth. The raw version of your prayer is the one he is near to.

• "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

  Romans 8:38-39

  Notice what is not on the list of things that can separate you: your doubt. It isn't strong enough. His love is stronger than your wavering.

When you've been disappointed

For trust that was injured — by an unanswered prayer, a loss, or people who failed you in God's name.

• "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

  Psalm 34:18

  He does not stand at a distance from disappointment, asking you to get over it. He moves toward the exact place it hurts.

• "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah."

  Psalm 62:8

  Pour out — the word is for liquid, for something that spills. Trust here is not a tight grip; it is an honest spill in a safe direction.

• "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

  Job 13:15

  Job said this from inside the worst of it, and he said plenty of angry things too. God later said Job had 'spoken of me the thing that is right' — above the friends who defended God with easy answers.

• "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."

  1 Peter 5:7

  The reason given is not 'because he will fix it by Friday.' It is 'for he careth for you.' Care is the thing trust is rebuilt on.

Small steps back toward trust

Trust rarely returns all at once. Scripture's pattern is smaller: one step, one day, one remembered goodness.

• "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

  Matthew 17:20

  A mustard seed is nearly nothing. Jesus says nearly-nothing faith still counts as faith. Bring the small amount you actually have, not the large amount you think you should have.

• "They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

  Lamentations 3:23

  His faithfulness is described as great; yours is not required to be. You are held by his consistency, not your own.

• "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)"

  2 Corinthians 5:7

  Walking, not sprinting. Faith at its most honest is often just the next step taken without being able to see the rest of the road.

• "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber."

  Psalm 121:3

  You do not have to hold on with both hands every second. The watching is his job, and he does not sleep on it.

Questions to sit with

• What exactly has become hard to trust — God's existence, his goodness, his nearness, or his timing?
• Was my trust injured by God, or by people who spoke for him badly?
• What would I say to a friend who brought me this same doubt?
• What is the smallest act of trust I could manage this week?

Questions people ask