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The Way The Truth

Faith2 min read

Unbelief Is Not Knowledge of the Truth

They say it with total conviction: There is no God. Why that shakes you, and why you of all people can understand them.

Mark 9:24

The face of a young man, half in light, half in shadow

They stand there with complete conviction and say: “There is no God.”

And something in you flinches. How can they be so sure? Where does that certainty come from? And why does it shake you so much?

Even You

Stop for a moment. And look at yourself.

I have experienced God. He has answered me. He has helped me. I have known his love, not as an idea, but as reality.

And still there are minutes when I doubt.

If even someone who has met God doubts, how hard must it be for a person who has never had that encounter?

“I believe; help my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24

This cry of a desperate father stands right in the middle of the Gospel. Faith and doubt often live in the same heart. That is no disgrace. It is honest.

A Heart That Got Lost in the World

Many who say today that there is no God once tried to believe. But along the way, their heart got lost in the world. What remained was the wish to build a kingdom of their own. One where no one stands above them.

Their unbelief is not knowledge of the truth. It is a not-knowing that has dressed itself up as truth. They do not know. But they cover that not-knowing with the word “truth.”

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:33

Do you see now why they do not believe? Not because they have seen more than you. But because they have not seen something that you have.

Believe What You Experience

So do not let loud voices shake you. Conviction is not yet proof. Volume is not yet truth.

Believe what you see. What you live through. Not what you hear.

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

Psalm 34:8

God cannot be won in an argument. He can only be experienced. And whoever has experienced him no longer needs to prove to anyone that he exists. They only need to stay true to what they have lived.

In short

Frequently asked questions about “Unbelief Is Not Knowledge of the Truth”

Why do so many people not believe in God?

Often not because they have seen more, but because there is something they have not experienced. Many of them once tried to believe, but their hearts got lost in the world, and now they want to build a kingdom of their own. Their unbelief is a not-knowing that has disguised itself as truth.

Is it wrong to doubt your faith?

No. Even someone who has experienced God doubts at times. That is not a disgrace; it is honest. In the middle of the Gospel, a desperate father cries out: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) Faith and doubt often live in the same heart.

How can I experience God?

God cannot be won in an argument; he can be experienced. Believe what you see and what you live through, not what you hear. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8) Whoever has experienced him no longer needs to prove to anyone that he exists.

The Way. The Truth.

Portrait of Dennis Hermann

Written byDennis Hermann@thewaythetruth.de

You’ll find more thoughts on Instagram.

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