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I was reading in Luke 5, where Peter is in his fishing boat and lets down his nets for a catch when Jesus tells him to. It hit me that this is a perfect demonstration of faith over doubt, and can be a huge help in exercising the first while not beating ourselves up over the second. Let me explain.
It's not uncommon for Christians to doubt we have enough faith; in fact, maybe that's the most common doubt we have. And we wonder if this is why our prayers aren't answered (when and how we want). Surprisingly often, born-again Christians with assurance of salvation will go through periods where they doubt they are even saved. Now, we do need to examine ourselves to be sure we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). But when we're just feeling ho-hum, or when we're listening to the "It's because you don't have enough faith" accusers, it helps to realize something: We are doubting in our heads just then. And where does Jesus say not to doubt? Let's look at Mark 11:23. Jesus is speaking:
"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him" (Mark 11:23 NIV, emphasis mine). Where should he not doubt? In his heart. His head might be going, "Whoa, baby, I dunno about this!" I'm not sure humans can escape this reaction, even mildly, if we're being honest. But if he believes in his heart--knows that God is faithful, His character is good and unchanging, He delights to do His will, He will stand by His word--then he can speak to any "mountain" that is not God's will for his life and know he has received its removal already. Because this is the mustard seed--at the very least, a mustard seed--of faith that God can work with.
Let's return to Peter. Luke 5 tells us that Jesus was speaking to the crowd from Peter's boat, and when He had finished, He said, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Peter answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
What a perfect reply! "We've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything" is stating a fact and facing reality. In the natural, anyone would doubt that things would be any different with one more try. "All night" was a more than sufficient test. Peter is using his head here. Why doesn't that translate into a lack of faith, and why shouldn't we get down on ourselves when we make the same observations? Because Peter doesn't stop there, and neither do we need to. Peter added, "But because you say so, I will let down the nets." This is more than teeth-gritted obedience. It's not said with an eyeroll. This is "My faith is in who You are and in the certainty of Your word." This is Peter's heart not wavering on his personal knowledge of and faith in Jesus. So he let down the nets and not only got a catch, but such a big catch that his nets started breaking. He believed in his heart, he spoke it aloud, it was in God's will, and boom. In overabundance, because that's God's way.
Did Peter's "We fished all night and caught nothing" stand in the way? Not at all. If you've felt that way, even camped out there for a while, don't beat yourself up that you "don't have enough faith." Take the next step: "But Jesus, my faith is in You, not circumstances, and if this is Your will, I'm not going to stand in the way. Please bring it about." And that mountain, whatever form it takes, has already moved.
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