Matthew 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Nothing kills faith faster than doubt. Now mind you I do not mean dead faith, but the works of faith are killed. This unbelief is tied back to James epistle in the form of doubting nothing. You can believe in part and doubt in another. The two are not mutually exclusive, one being of the world, the other in Christ.

Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

Here a father expresses the deeper secret of faith, I believe in you my Lord and Savior, but I need you to remove all doubt that I still suffer. In the most simple terms my faith is in Christ and not myself. I will and rightly so, doubt myself. What I should not do is allow self-doubt to be an obstacle to obedience of faith. Thanks be to God that He is a patient God and has no problem at all in repeating Himself. There is nothing wrong with saying to God, “I’m not sure. Are you sure?”

Look to the Old Testament and you will find many valiant men of God who doubted themselves but were used of God in ways that demonstrated God could use the weak things of this world to overcome the enemy. Gideon is a great example, perhaps even more so than Moses or Elijah or Elisha who all moved in great power.

James 1:3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ESV

You never will know what your faith can do without testing it. Every test which produces a good result will help remove doubt. Your failures will teach you just as much as your success if you accept that your doubt had nothing to do with the results. Your success is dependent of the will of God and not our own.

But how does that help my hearing? Is this the test?