One of the biggest questions people carry is this:
“If God is real… why don’t more people believe?”
And the truth is, it’s not always because people are wicked or ignorant.
A lot of times it’s because belief isn’t just about evidence… it’s about trust.
1. Pain Makes People Question God
Many people don’t stop believing because they hate God…
They stop because something hurt them deeply.
They prayed and still lost someone.
They cried and nothing changed.
They did right and still suffered.
And silently they ask:
“If God is good… why did this happen?”
The Bible even shows us that pain can shake faith:
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
(Matthew 27:46, NKJV)
Sometimes it’s not rebellion… it’s heartbreak.
2. Religion Hurt Them Before God Ever Healed Them
Some people didn’t reject God…
They rejected church trauma.
They saw hypocrisy, control, shame, and manipulation.
So now they don’t trust anything that sounds spiritual.
But God is not defined by the worst example of His people.
Scripture warns us about this reality:
“Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
(2 Timothy 3:5, NKJV)
A form without power will always push people away.
3. Pride Doesn’t Want to Bow
Believing in God isn’t just saying God exists.
It means accepting that God is Lord.
And pride doesn’t want to surrender control.
Because if God is real, then I’m accountable.
If God is real, then my life has purpose.
If God is real, then I can’t stay the same.
The Bible says:
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
(James 4:6, NKJV)
Humility opens the door to faith.
Pride locks it.
4. People Only Believe What They Can Measure
We live in a world that teaches, “If I can’t see it, it’s not real.”
But God is Spirit, and spiritual things require spiritual understanding.
That’s why the Word says:
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God… because they are spiritually discerned.”
(1 Corinthians 2:14, NKJV)
Some people don’t reject God because He isn’t real…
They reject Him because they’re trying to approach Him with the wrong lens.
A Story Toward the End: When I Saw It for Myself
I’ll never forget a conversation I had with someone who told me:
“Pastor, I don’t know if I believe in God anymore.”
They weren’t angry.
They weren’t mocking.
They weren’t trying to debate.
They were tired.
They said, “I prayed. I tried. I believed.
But life kept hitting me… and I started feeling stupid for trusting God.”
So I didn’t hit them with a sermon.
I just asked, “What happened?”
And what came out wasn’t atheism… it was grief.
It was disappointment.
It was confusion that had gone unspoken for years.
Then I told them something simple:
“Don’t let your pain convince you God is absent… when He may actually be the only One who can hold you through it.”
I reminded them that faith isn’t always loud.
Sometimes faith is just choosing to whisper:
“God, if You’re there… help me.”
And I watched their whole face change not because I proved God in a debate…
but because they finally felt safe enough to be honest.
That’s where belief often starts.
Not with argument…
But with a heart that’s ready to trust again..
Closing
People don’t believe in God for many reasons:
Pain.
Pride.
Disappointment.
Bad experiences with religion.
Or because they’ve never truly encountered the living Jesus for themselves.
But the truth is God is not afraid of questions.
And God is not scared of honest doubt.
If someone will seek Him sincerely, He knows how to make Himself real.
Because God doesn’t just want followers…
He wants family.
Why People Don’t Believe In God
