Lose Faith in God? 7 Reasons to Trust Him in Your Hot Mess

NoDid you lose faith in God due to unanswered prayer? Do you believe God can’t help you through a difficult situation?

Like me, you may have convinced yourself that your problems are way too big for God, or that He doesn’t care about your situation because you are a hot mess.

To be honest, I have fouled up situations thinking they could never ever be redeemed. (Check out my book about my family estrangement.)

But, if we are truly walking with God, the Holy Spirit will eventually call us to put away our doubts and trust God even if we have temporarily lost faith.

In this post, you will see how great men and women of faith temporarily lost their faith in God. But because they chose to still believe Him, their situation eventually turned around.

What Does It Mean to Lose Faith?

Losing faith in God can simply mean that someone no longer believes in the existence of God. This could be due to the lack of evidence they see at the time, personal experiences, or a shift in one’s understanding of the world.

It could also refer to a period of doubt and questioning in one’s spiritual beliefs or God Himself.

Whatever the circumstance, losing faith means struggling with some aspect of God’s character and/or power.

What Happens If You Lose Your Faith?

If you have lost faith in God, you are not alone.

Many others before you have felt the same way. Before you shut down and give up hope, I suggest you look at Hebrews 11 in the Bible and see what happened to others who also lost their faith.

You see, Hebrews 11 is the hero’s “Hall of Faith” for the greatest men and women of the Bible.

Oddly, not one of their sins is mentioned in this passage or that they DID lose faith in God at one time or another. It is as if God never remembered the “other part,” even though the “other part” was pretty bad.

I’m sure God did remember, but He chose to forget.

So, if you too have lost faith, it is not too late to turn it around just like the greatest people in the Bible.

Check out these inspirational stories and see how to turn around a difficult situation and be counted as one of the most faithful.

RELATED: Has God Abandoned Me? 5 Truths When You Feel God’s Silence

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What To Do When You Lose Faith In God

Check out these seven people in Hebrews 11 who lost faith in God and see what they did to turn it around.

These people denied God, disobeyed Him, laughed at God, and even committed murder, yet they turned it around with God’s help. If He can do it for them (and call them heroes), He can do it for you.

Don’t believe me? Read the seven stories and you will see seven reasons why you should not lose faith in God.

1. Noah

Noah was a righteous man. He built an Ark, saved his family, and started a new world. Noah faithfully trusted God while building the ark, walking into the ark, and living in the ark during the flood, and after it was over. He is the father of all nations.

Hebrews 11 forgot to mention this…Later in life, Noah was drunk and naked in his tent. Ham came in and looked at Noah while he was naked. Then Ham went to his brothers and made fun of his father.

Noah cursed Ham.

We don’t fully understand the cultural ramifications of this, but we do know whatever happened in that tent, it was bad enough for Noah to curse a whole bloodline. If Noah weren’t drunk and naked, this would have never happened. 

2. Abraham

Abraham left his home and followed God into the desert. This was just the beginning of Abraham’s life of faith.

He had Isaac, who was a miracle and the fulfillment of a promise to Abraham by God. Having great obedience, Abraham put Isaac upon an altar to sacrifice, trusting God would save him. And God did.

Most of all, Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation. He is one of the greatest heroes of our faith.

Hebrews 11 doesn’t mention that he did lose faith in God when Sarah went with him to Egypt. He lied about her being his wife and nearly forced her into adultery with the King.

He lost faith in the promise of a son through Sarah. Tragically, he slept with Hagar producing Ishmael. (We are still dealing with that mess–Israel and Arab hatred.)

RELATED: 5 Reasons to Forgive Those Who Hurt You (Even If They Don’t Deserve It)

3. Sarah

She had a child, Isaac, even though she was barren and too old. It says, “She believed that God would keep His promise.” (Hebrews 11:11b)

Before she believed, she laughed in disbelief at such a thing occurring. Due to her disbelief, she encouraged her husband, Abraham, to sleep with her handmaiden to produce an heir.

Yep, I think Sarah did lose faith in God in the beginning. 

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4. Moses

Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, kept them alive in the desert, crossed the Red Sea, and talked with God.

He delivered the Ten Commandments, and he led the Israelites to the Promised Land. That’s only part of the story of Moses.

Hebrews 11 doesn’t mention he killed an Egyptian or wanted Aaron to speak for him because he didn’t believe God could help him speak eloquently.  

He also struck a rock in anger, disobeying God. Unfortunately, due to his disobedience, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Moses lost faith in God many times but it isn’t in Hebrews 11. Nope. 

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5. David

David, the shepherd boy, was a man after God’s own heart. He was Saul’s servant, he conquered many nations as a great warrior, and he was one of the greatest kings of Israel who ever lived.

His sins were great too. He slept with another man’s wife (Bathsheba) in secret. David murdered Uriah to cover up his sin. 

Sadly, David was responsible for his son’s death. He was also responsible for many men dying because he took a census. On top of that, he killed so many men in battle that he was not allowed to build the temple. Solomon, his son, built it instead. 

RELATED: How To Fix An Estranged Relationship with Family and Mend Your Heart

6. Samson

Samson was a legendary warrior, judge, and leader. He was a man of great strength due to his hair (Nazarene). He killed many Philistines at his death.

Hebrews 11 doesn’t emphasize or even mention how greatly flawed Samson was for desiring a Philistine woman. Or the horrible deception of Delilah which turned into him losing his hair, his eyes, and his strength.

He killed himself while pulling down the pillars in the Temple of Dagon. 

7. Rahab

Rahab risked her life by hiding the Israeli spies on her roof and deceiving the city officials who were looking for them. She saved her family from destruction.

She was a prostitute. 

RELATED: How to Overcome Failure: 5 Steps to Succeed in Life

How Can I Get My Faith Back In God?

Clearly, these seven biblical heroes lost faith in God. And we do too.

The one thing these heroes had in common is they didn’t give up. They kept going even though it was unbearable at times, they experienced horrible failure, lost faith, and made a mess of things.

Somewhere along the way, disbelief turned into belief. And that is what got them through. They chose to believe. And you can too.

Everything is redeemable by God if you will choose to believe Him during the tough times and trust He uses all things for good.

Romans 8:28 says, “ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (NASB).

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What Causes People to Lose Faith?

As moms, it is easy to lose faith when we feel out of control of our lives. It may seem your circumstances are hopeless because your baby is sick all the time, your child has a learning issue, or your teen is acting up at school or home.

For those of you who don’t have kid issues right now, it could be your husband is unfaithful or difficult to live with, you have a chronic illness, or you have lost a loved one.

RELATED: Living With Chronic Illness: 10 Tips to Stay Positive On the Hard Days

Perhaps you don’t get along with your mother-in-law or you hate your job.

Whatever it is, you can not see past today.

If you are like me, you probably tend to look at the here and now instead of the big picture to see what God is doing in your life.

As a Christian, I can guarantee one thing: God is after your character, not your comfort.

He wants you to have faith in Him even when your life is difficult. Actually, this is when He does His best work.

Next time you lose faith in God, remember the Bible heroes in Hebrews 11 who were really flawed, but they still pleased God. In the end, they got back on course and finished what God called them to do.

This means you can too. And still have it counted as righteousness!

Now that’s some good news

Did you lose faith in God? Will you choose to believe Him even when things look bleak? Comment below.