“But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’” - Isaiah 57 v 20 – 21

“But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1 v 6 – 8

In both Isaiah and James, the picture of a stormy sea is used to describe both the doubting and the wicked. Why would God associate these two groups of people? A wicked man supersedes even a sinner. A sinner can still have good motives, but poor judgment. A wicked man however, has evil intent. Such a man has hardened his heart against God. Those whom James is addressing in the first chapter of his epistle are believers, followers of Christ and servants of their Father God. Why would the Bible place a wicked unbeliever and a doubting believer on the same level, comparing them both to storm-tossed seas?

In character and in their eternal destinies, these two groups are very different. However, their torment and fruitless existence are identical in nature. Neither group have peace. A wicked man will have no peace due to his separation from God, the only source of true peace. A doubting believer will have no peace due to the anxiety that constantly dominates his thinking. Neither group are productive in good works. A wicked man will have no interest in doing good works, his works are inherently evil. A doubting Christian will be unable to produce good works, due to his unsettled, indecisive and irresolute nature.

This is indeed a warning to all Christians. Run from doubt dear believer, as hastily as you would run from wickedness and sin. Doubt is in essence unbelief, even if that doubt lasts just for a moment. True belief is not believing for a moment, then doubting for a moment, then believing for a moment again. This is not faith. This is unbelief, and such produces as much effectiveness and courage in a person as storm-tossed waves would comfort a sea-sick passenger.