The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer Faith

by Craig Groeschel

Struggling with Doubt Doesn't Make You a Bad Christian--It Might Be What Saves Your Faith.

If you're secretly wrestling with questions about God, faith, or the Bible, you're not alone--and you're not broken.

In The Benefit of Doubt, bestselling pastor Craig Groeschel shows how your hardest spiritual questions can actually deepen your faith, not destroy it. Instead of hiding from doubt, Groeschel invites you to bring it into the light--and watch what God can do with it.

Through candid stories, biblical insight, and real-life struggles, Groeschel reframes doubt as a path, not a problem. With humor, humility, and hope, he walks alongside you to explore the most common (and often unspoken) spiritual questions--not with judgment, but with wisdom and empathy.

What You'll

Why doubt doesn't mean your faith is weak--it means you're asking the right questionsWhat to do when God feels silent, distant, or absentHow to reconcile science and Scripture without giving up eitherWhy unanswered prayers don't mean unanswered purposeHow to talk about spiritual questions in communities that value certaintyWhy Jesus is still worth following, even when Christians fall short 

How Readers Are Using This

"This helped me reopen conversations with my teen about faith and doubt--without shame."

"We used this in our small group, and it unlocked a whole new level of honesty."

Readers are

Using the book's reflection prompts for journaling or discussionBringing it into small-group studies, church leadership circles, and counseling contextsRebuilding faith after spiritual deconstruction or burnoutSharing it with teens, new believers, or friends quietly questioning their faith 

Who This Book Is

Christians silently struggling with doubt or spiritual disconnectionSmall-group leaders navigating honest faith conversationsBelievers going through deconstruction but still longing for GodPastors, parents, and mentors helping others process faith questions with compassion 

Doubt isn't a dead end. It's an invitation to something deeper.

The Benefit of Doubt will help you rediscover a faith that not only can withstand your hardest questions but sees those questions as a way to draw closer to God.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living, Audiobook, Christian Non Fiction, Spirituality

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2025

About the author

Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life.Church, a multisite church with locations throughout the United States and globally at Life.Church Online.

Craig and his wife Amy started Life.Church in a two-car garage in Edmond, Oklahoma in January 1996. While Life.Church has grown over the years, its mission remains the same: to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Today, the church is known for its innovative use of technology to spread the Gospel, launching the first fully digital church experience in 2006 and the most downloaded Bible app in history, YouVersion, in 2008.

As a widely respected leader in the Church, Craig speaks frequently at leadership events and conferences worldwide. He is a New York Times best-selling author with books about topics like dating and marriage, social media, purpose, direction, church leadership, and more. He also hosts the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast, a practical tool to spark new ideas and prompt innovative thinking in leaders at every level within any organization.

Craig and Amy married in 1991 and have six children. They live in Oklahoma where Life.Church began.

Visit www.craiggroeschel.com to be the first to hear about new podcast episodes, books, leadership events, and more.

Reviews

[Kayla Peker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would highly recommend this resource - not because it’s the best book on apologetics I’ve ever read but because of how approachable and understandable it is. In a world where deconstruction is the norm and many people struggle to put to words what they believe, I think having a resource like this for people to explore is important and will help to bring guidance and clarity.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars.

🕊️ The vibes:
- Christian non fiction
- Addressing doubts in faith
- 🎧 audio is great
- Short read
- Relatable perspective

🕊️ My thoughts:
This book may be for you if:
- you have walked through loss and pain and just don’t get it
- you have doubts and questions about your faith
- you have questions about God and why our world is such a mess
- you don’t even know how to pray sometimes
- you’ve been hurt by Christians or the church

So many moments in this book made me emotional. God speaks to us in many ways, and this book really spoke to me and encouraged me in areas that have been wounded through life and loss. There are moments in my life that haunt me, and this book addressed a lot of my feelings, thoughts, and doubts with biblical wisdom and truth.

Highly recommend if you have any inclination to grab it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for a dark night of the soul

If you are in a dark night of the soul where your faith may not make sense anymore, this book is both affirming and uplifting. With candor and humor, Craig Groeschel lays out deep truths in simple language that is easy to understand. His phrase “they’re just dust, and so are you” has been a practical takeaway that is helping me forgive my human enemies and heal from faders hurts. I am thankful for the way God used this book to encourage me in my current season.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Christian that deviates from the mainstream Christian ideology that dominates our current society due to many of the things that I thought this book would touch on, I found it lacking in many ways. It presents a very circular argument by just using the Bible to prove itself. While it probably does a good job at convincing those who don’t think critically about concepts to reconsider their faith and reduce their doubt, it should be clear to anyone that approaches these topics logically that Craig avoids the truly difficult issues and reaches for the low hanging fruit that is easy to explain. Sure, we can claim that “nobody is good” because everyone is a sinner, so that means the question “why do bad things happen to good people” has no merit; however, that ignores the obvious issue of what about when bad things happen to babies? Surely we all agree babies have not sinned and therefore are good, so the argument doesn’t hold up anymore. That’s just one example. I’d also like to point out that Craig doesn’t seem to understand the difference between intrinsic suffering and the instrumental value of suffering. While sometimes suffering may lead to better things, we can’t ignore the fact that suffering in itself is problematic, and it will always be difficult to square up an all powerful, all loving God with a God that allows suffering on the scale that humans experience.

There are two claims that Craig makes in this book that I take issue with. The first is that moral objectivity cannot exist without God. While this gets into a much deeper philosophical debate than I’m prepared to dive into here, many philosophers have largely debunked this concept. Second, I disagree with the claim that only people who believe in the Christian account of Jesus as the son of God who died and was resurrected to forgive us our sins will be allowed into Heaven. This claim ignores the billions of people throughout history who never even had a chance to know about Christianity. If those people are punished by God with an eternity in Hell at no fault of their own, then that is not a God any of us should want to follow anyways.

My last complaint is that this book just felt like I was being preached at the whole time. And it also seemed like he was given a word count goal and had to keep saying the same things over and over again to reach that goal. Overall, I think the book could have been far better by cutting out the over the top preaching and actually diving into more problematic topics that are causing people to doubt God and leave the church. It could have discussed how the Bible was written so long after events transpired and changed and translated by whoever was in power that it’s likely not as accurate as people like to think. Or how many of the supposed sins that mainstream Christianity denounces today are based on poor understandings of poorly translated passages (things like homosexuality, non-monogamy, premarital sex, profanity, etc.). Or how if we admit that some parts of the Bible should be taken metaphorically to match up with scientific fact then can’t every part of the Bible be taken metaphorically? There were so many more ways that Craig could have bridged the gap between the church and those who have left mainstream Christianity, but he chose to avoid the hard topics.

[Sydney Repak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciate how this book addressed the coexistence of faith and doubt🔥

[Ariel Wakem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t read Christian non fic a lot. A few books of this genre ago, I decided I wouldn’t even give ratings to them anymore. Honestly because I find myself rushing through them to get back to a fiction read… they just haven’t always been my thing, to put it bluntly. But 5 stars for this book, this book destroyed me. I didn’t want to put it down, and I have been picking it up OVER my fiction I’m reading on the side (which is also a 5 star!) I love Craig as a pastor and this book had his humor, his direct method of relaying information, and doing so in a relatable and digestible manner. I have been struggling with doubts and hardships in my walk of faith lately and this book has put God’s goodness and God’s love for me up like a glowing neon sign. This book has provided me needed reminders, the perfect verses broken down, and the perfect encouragement to march on. Thank you Craig for writing this book. I feel a fresh wind of the Spirit in my soul and strength to seek the Lord with a renewed energy!!!

[Ashley Provencher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible book by Pastor Craig! One of my favorite Christian authors

[Savanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Craig Groeschel fan, so when I saw his latest book was about doubt, it was pretty much calling my name. I read and annotated it, did the companion workbook, and then went through again and took some notes to help me digest. Did it answer all of my questions and quell all of my doubts? No (but that is part of the point). Did it help me grapple with some things I'm struggling with? Definitely.

Highly recommend it as part of your faith-based reading. Would be a great group study as well.

[Sam Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book was amazing. I think nonbelievers of Christ AND people who know God should read this book. It answers so many questions and is so validating at the same time. I have so many take aways from this book.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

practical and eye opening. an amazing resource for believers and those who are questioning the God of the bible.

[Bri Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars— because I truly feel this was a life changing book for me!

A really cool concept to take steps on “deconstructing” your faith. I LOVED it. Craig Groeshel is super relatable and laugh out loud funny at times. An easy read, but a very thought provoking read to prompt you to wrestle with the big questions of Christianity that we alllll have.. yes, even Christians! It felt like a very healthy exercise to question my doubts and then find the answers to build my faith up stronger and make it more of my own. Topics covered include unanswered prayers, why believe in the Bible if science contradicts it, why does God feel so far away, why would God send people to Hell, why believe in Jesus when Christians can be huge hypocrites, and why would God choose to love me when I’m such a sinner just scratch the surface. What if God isn’t real? This book normalized that question for me and helped me dig deeper into finding the answer and reaffirming my convictions. I could go on and on about this one clearly!!

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone with my share of questions, I felt his handling of the "why bad things happen" issue was rather poor, and liable to alienate the intended audience. He does a much better job explaining reasons why people doubt, like being around fake Christians, experiencing bitterness, or devolving into intellectualism.

[Ella Esposito · Rating 5 out of 5]

everyone please read this book. all of it, but the last chapter specifically was incredible. God knows what i should read

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Radically changed my life. Why does God send people to hell? Why does God let bad things happen? How can God love us when we all do bad things? This book answers it all and so much more…

[Lauren]

wow i loved this

whether you have doubts, have doubted, or have friends who do. this book is a gift to you

[Ty Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Groschel may not be an expert in apologetics but he sure is the author of this book

[Selah M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book! I loved that there was a chapter for dealing with doubt, and then a bunch of common doubts people have.

[Steven Vandenbogaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted this book at the depth of the most challenging season of my life. I was blessed beyond measure by Craig's heartfelt approach to identify doubts and processing them, all while walking the reader through establishing a stronger faith.

Every true Christian will face doubts at some point in their faith journey, and Craig unpacks the questions of Job, David, the disciples, and other Biblical characters to help us see how God isn't afraid of or opposed to our questions, but in fact He is ready to meet us in our time of need.

My favorite book of the year so far :)

[Josh Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed mainly with the title of this book in relation to its content. The title reflects a book digging into the interplay between doubt and faith, but the content is pretty standard: another thinly-veiled persuasion book about common faith-based arguments with the typical answers. This is the second trendy book in as many years that has pulled me into this trap. I will not be pulled in again!

[Courtney Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an absolute gift—for anyone who has ever wrestled with hard questions, felt the weight of doubt, or wondered if their uncertainty disqualified them from faith. Even though I’m not currently walking through a season of doubt, I’ve experienced those moments before—the ones where I questioned everything I believed, where God felt far away, and I struggled to make sense of it all. Reading this book now, from a place of deeper faith, still spoke volumes to me.

Craig Groeschel has such a unique way of making deep, spiritual truths approachable and real. In The Benefit of Doubt, he invites readers into honest conversations about the questions we’re often too afraid to say out loud. He reminds us that doubt isn’t the opposite of faith—it’s often the beginning of a stronger, more authentic relationship with God.

Through personal stories, biblical insight, and his signature warmth and humor, Craig tackles big questions like:
Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?
Why does God feel far away?
Doesn’t science disprove the Bible?
Why would God only provide one way to heaven?
Why believe in Jesus when His followers are flawed?

This isn’t just a book about apologetics—it’s about finding God in the middle of our uncertainty. Whether you’re in a season of doubt, know someone who is, or just want to strengthen your foundation, this is such a timely, powerful read. It reminded me that God can handle our questions and often uses them to draw us closer to Him.

Thoughtful, honest, and hope-filled. Another incredible book from a pastor whose writing has impacted me time and time again.

[Virginia Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Craig’s approach. I think he makes it easy for the reader because it has story telling and accompanying scriptures. I love how he prays at the end of the chapters based on the chapter topics. I love how he mentions hell and heaven description. I only give it a 3 star rating because I think some of the doubts people have can be on harder topics in our current social season in the US and I think it would have been nice to hear it. For example, how does God love those that are gay? I know God will love them BUT based on the Bible the acts are still a sin. Socially we see “love is love” and we know that God is Love so how will someone that states love is love (referring to the LGBTQ philosophy . How about people that want to transition from one gender to another? Perhaps that’s too heavy and perhaps needs an entire other book.

I love the science discussion ALOT. I would add an extra .5 stars if I could.

[Evangelia Katsaitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so approachable and easy to understand! It explored such important and relevant/relatable doubts and questions that both Christians and non Christians have towards God and the truths behind the doubts. I feel like his explanations were very biblically sound and overall real. What I love most about this book was that he used such practical analogies that helped me truly understand different ideas/parables that Jesus talked about in the Bible. Such a good book! I would say that this book can be superficial and circular at times and if you are struggling with doubt while this book is a great resource and can definitely help you, I’m sure there are other resources out there that dive much deeper into each topic, but this is where reflection and conversations with people can help you! I definitely would recommend this to anyone, believer or not, no matter where they are with their walk with Jesus!

[Jane Riordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just brilliant. Craig Groeschel writes with his usual easy, chatty style which draws you in and then you realise that you are actually considering deep theological questions but still managing to keep your head above water and understand the questions and the reasoning behind the answers.

Of course the most important aspect of the book and the raison d'etre of it is to reassure us that doubts don't make one a bad Christian, they make you human (the author's words), they are a part of faith and by accepting them and addressing them, they can actually lead us into a deeper place.

One of those books where you inhale it quickly and then go back to consider all those page markers / highlights you have made along the way.

Great teaching.

[Londyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was certainly insightful. Whether you're new to faith, a leader in the church, or even just genuinely searching to deepen your faith, this is the perfect read. To be honest, I have loved every book that I have read by Craig but this is definitely in my top favorites. I have always loved Science because it truly points to the Bible and this book gave such amazing research on that aspect alone that it blew my mind. God is truly so good and so so loving but those "sayings" tend to feel like inspirational quotes rather than solid, faith-filled statements but the content in these pages thoroughly covers the truth of the words. I got several highlights from reading and I think you would too, should you feel prompted to give it a go!

[Hannah Steigman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read. It talks about walking through doubt, injustice, and questions.

The author encourages you not to walk away from the faith because of questions, pain, or doubt. He then encourages you not to stuff down your doubts and cover up your feelings, experiences, and questions; white knuckling it isn’t good or healthy. The final charge was to wrestle and walk with God through the hard times and when confusion rises up give God the benefit of the doubt. Even in the deconstruction of your faith, remember to reconstruct it on Christ and His word.

[Maggie :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little hesitant about this book because it confronted doubt so bluntly. I was a little worried that it would be surface level and not actually address the questions we all ask. However, I think it handled most of the questions with grace and clarity, and as someone who spirals with questions, I was grateful for the reminder at the end: God’s presence is enough. He is wholly good and perfect, and He is the fulfillment of all of my desires. I can rest in the knowledge of a good and loving Father who hears my questions and doesn’t run away.

[Grady Henexson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why should you do when you doubt?
Why does God allow bad things to happen?
Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

These are all very powerful questions that Pastor Craig does an amazing job of answering. Even if I wasn’t necessarily struggling with these questions, he provides a great way to reinforce your belief and give examples to those who are far from God. Great read. Lots of wisdom I’ll definitely have to go back through and reread again!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best Pastor Craig book I have read yet. I only read a little everyday during busy seasons, and it was nice to savor it. However, I want to reread it when I can take it all in over a short time period. We’ve all struggled with doubts when it comes to faith. The realness of that comes through in this book, and Craig gives practical and biblical response to the most common reasons to doubt. SO GOOD!!!!

[Taylor Ohlmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a book on apologetics, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for a relatable, thought-provoking book, you should certainly check this out! The author encourages us that it’s normal to have doubts about faith, and he tackles some tough questions about Christianity we’ve all asked at some point. Whether you’re a believer or not, I think this book could be helpful to you.

PS There’s several Dad jokes spread throughout the book. I’ll let you decide if they’re funny or not 😅

[Frankline Mardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to be dramatic, but this book changed my life. It pushes you to confront your doubts and reflect on your relationship with Jesus. Craig does a fantastic job of being personable, using his own stories while also drawing on the experiences of others for us to learn from. He writes in a way that is approachable and feels like you're having a conversation with him. There were moments when I felt called out, but in the best way possible—excited to read more of his books!