How can I overcome struggling with faith in Jesus? This is a great question that all of us ask from time to time. Let’s talk!
“So Jesus said to the twelve (His own twelve disciples), “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67).
Do You Sometimes Struggle with Faith in Jesus?
Do you sometimes struggle with faith in Jesus? You’re not alone; the Bible tells us that even Jesus’ most ardent followers sometimes struggled with their faith. How can I overcome struggling with faith in Jesus?
Some Teachings are Difficult
Some even caused some of His “disciples” (others who followed Jesus but didn’t believe [John 6:64]) to leave. Immediately before some left, Jesus spoke metaphorically about people needing to drink His blood and eat His flesh. Those who do will have life — eternal life –, and Jesus will raise them:
“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:53-54).
But Jesus’ former disciples, who walked away, couldn’t understand:
“When they heard this, many of His disciples (followers) said, “This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?” (John 6:60).
No Other Option
They “walked no more with Him” because they didn’t understand. When Jesus saw their response, He asked His closest followers, His twelve disciples, “Do you also want to go away?”
When Jesus asked Simon Peter (also speaking for the other disciples) answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
How can I overcome struggling with faith in Jesus?
Jesus Alone Can Offer Eternal Life
Peter realized Jesus alone had the words of eternal life. And that no one else did! If not Jesus, who? No one else is the way (John 14:6). No one else is the ladder to heaven. We metaphorically climb to heaven on Him:
“And He (Jesus) said to him (Nathaniel, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples), “Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man (the resurrected Jesus)” (John 1:51).
Jesus’ Metaphors
Peter understood Jesus’ point when He spoke about drinking His blood and eating His flesh. These were metaphors for believing in Jesus. Peter responded, “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68-69).
Peter Struggled with His Faith
But Peter had his moments of doubt. When Jesus famously walked on the water, Peter asked to join Jesus, and he started toward Jesus walking on the water. But he soon started sinking when he took His eyes off Jesus and looked around. He doubted:
“Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
But when Jesus took Peter by the hand and brought him back to the boat, the twelve disciples, at least temporarily, stopped doubting and believed:
“And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:31-32).
The Twelve Disciples Struggled with Their Faith
So, even Peter struggled with his faith in Jesus and had doubts. And so did some of the others among the twelve:
“Then the eleven disciples went away to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him. But some doubted” (Matthew 28:16-17).
Apparently, Jesus’ other disciples also waivered in their faith. Even after Jesus’ resurrection!
Wavering Between Two Points
According to the Greek concordances (Strong’s and Thayer’s), the Greek word (edistasan) translated as ‘doubt’ means to waver between two positions. That’s what Peter did when he tried to walk on the water. He knew he could succeed when he depended on Jesus’ power by faith, but he also knew he couldn’t in his power. So, when his focus shifted off Jesus, he failed.
To give another example, Elijah accused Israel of jumping between two opinions (wavering). Many in Israel had started following the false god Baal instead of Yahweh, the God of Israel:
“Elijah came to all the people and said, “How long will you stay between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not say a word” (1 Kings 18:21).
Elijah demonstrated that Yahweh was the true God, and he convinced God’s people.
Prayer Can Help Our Wavering Faith
The man whose son was demon oppressed “Cried out with tears, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Jesus is there to help in times of need.
Keep Your eyes on Jesus and seek Him in Prayer
It’s human to struggle with our faith; even when we know better. It may help to know we’re in good company because Jesus’ closest followers also waivered. But look around, no one else has the words of eternal life. There is no better – even no other! –option. Jesus is the only living, Savior!
In the words of the hymn:
“But I know Whom I have believed, And am persuaded that He is able,
To keep that which I’ve committed, Unto Him against that day.”
I Know Whom I Have Believed by Daniel W. Whittle
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If you struggle with forgiveness you are not alone. Find help here.
Is it normal to struggle with faith in Jesus, even as a believer?
Absolutely — and the Bible makes no attempt to hide this. Even Jesus’ closest followers, the twelve disciples who walked with Him daily, witnessed His miracles firsthand, and heard Him teach in person, struggled with doubt. After the resurrection — after everything they had seen — Matthew records that when the disciples saw Jesus on the mountain, some still doubted. Peter famously began to sink while walking on water the moment his focus shifted off Jesus. Struggling with faith is not a sign of spiritual failure; it is part of being human. What matters is where you turn in the struggle. “When they saw Him, they worshipped Him. But some doubted.” — Matthew 28:17
What does it actually mean to “doubt,” and why does it cause us to sink?
The Greek word translated as “doubt” in these passages literally means to waver between two positions — to know one thing is true while also believing the opposite might be true. Peter’s experience on the water illustrates this perfectly. He knew he could walk on water when his trust was in Jesus — and he did. The moment his focus shifted to the wind and the waves around him, he began to sink. He was not choosing unbelief; he was simply looking in the wrong direction. Doubt is not the absence of faith — it is faith that has temporarily lost its focus. And Jesus, true to form, did not let Peter drown. He reached out and caught him. “Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'” — Matthew 14:31
Why did some of Jesus’ followers walk away from Him when His teachings were hard?
When Jesus spoke metaphorically about eating His flesh and drinking His blood — referring to believing in Him fully — many who had been following Him found it too difficult to understand and walked away. Their departure was not because His words were untrue, but because they were unwilling to wrestle with what they did not yet understand. Faith sometimes requires sitting with mystery and tension rather than demanding immediate clarity. The twelve disciples stayed — not because they had everything figured out, but because Peter voiced what they all sensed: there was simply nowhere else to go. Jesus alone had the words of eternal life, and that truth was more compelling than their confusion. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” — John 6:68
Why is Jesus the only option when it comes to eternal life?
Peter’s response to Jesus captures one of the most honest and powerful arguments for faith: if not Jesus, then who? No other teacher, philosopher, religious leader, or spiritual system claims to offer what Jesus offers — or has the resurrection to back it up. No one else is the way to heaven, the living Savior, or the source of eternal life. Jesus described Himself as the ladder between earth and heaven, with angels ascending and descending upon Him. When faith wavers, returning to this question — “where else would I go?” — has a grounding and clarifying power. The answer has not changed, and it never will. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6
How can I overcome struggling with faith and keep my eyes on Jesus?
The most honest and effective prayer in moments of wavering faith is the one cried out by a desperate father in Mark 9: “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” That prayer acknowledges both the faith that is present and the doubt that remains — and brings both directly to Jesus. He is not put off by honest struggle; He responds to it. Keeping your eyes on Jesus rather than the wind and the waves around you is not a passive act — it is a daily, deliberate choice to return your focus to Him through prayer, Scripture, and remembering what you already know to be true. You are in good company in the struggle, and Jesus has never yet let go of the hand that reaches out to Him. “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” — Mark 9:24
