When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say
Luke 12:11-12
In this life on earth, we can find ourselves asking many questions but also being asked many questions to which we may fail to have answers. Sometimes as Christians, we may think once we “say yes to Jesus” that we suddenly gain premium access to all the answers to life’s mystery. I can confirm that this is not the case. These burning questions can cause fear, doubt, and frustration to stir up within us. However, a big part of being a Christian is living a surrendered life, where we trust God but most importantly, we partner with Him; doing our part and allowing God to be God in our lives. We aren’t called to understand or agree with everything that we see or experience on this earth, but we are called into intimate fellowship with God and obedience to His commands. So how do we navigate a world full of questions?
We are not All-knowing
Only God is omniscient, He is all-knowing. This is an important fact to remember, which sets God apart from us humble humans! Part of the Great Commission is to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” Mark 16:15; however, sometimes we can be afraid about being asked difficult questions and so avoid evangelism altogether. The very idea of it can seem intimidating because how can you share the gospel, whilst you’re also grappling with questions of your own?
Another instance is where something happens in your life which shakes the foundations of your faith for example a death in the family, natural disasters, losing your job etc. These are not light matters at all and can challenge your personal walk with God; you may wonder why God let these things happen.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
Proverbs 3:5-6
It is impossible to have all the answers
Let me tell you this, we were never meant to be all-knowing and seeing, this revelation is reassuring, and I’ll tell you why. There is a burden and a responsibility that comes with being all-knowing, that we were not built for. Instead, we are encouraged to cast our cares unto God (1 Peter 5:7). This was God’s intended purpose, for us to lean into Him and depend on Him. Furthermore, another reason that it is good for us not to have all the answers, is that it allows us to rely on Holy Spirit even more. When we lean on our own understanding, it can rob us of our peace.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen
Hebrews 11:1
What do I do with my doubts/questions?
Whilst it is easy to say that we can’t know everything and are not required to have all the answers, it doesn’t stop questions or doubt arising. Yet again in the bible, there are examples where biblical teachers asked questions (John 3:1-15), even when a question was asked and answered incorrectly (Matthew 8:28-30). There are even examples where people wrestled with doubt whilst having faith (John 20:24-29, Mark 9:24). And the beautiful conclusion from all of this is that Jesus met them at their point of faith, He responded in love and guided them. God is not afraid of our questions or doubt, He will not disown you or abandon you, He understands that we are human and we can be fickle! He created us after all. Yet He promises that He is faithful, even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). Below are some suggestions on how we can process our questions/doubt in a healthy and God honouring way:-
- Fasting and Prayer > what is the root of these questions i.e. think about your circumstance/people around you
- Find a trusted friend, family member or elder in church who can help unpack your question further and help you navigate your emotions
- Write your questions down on paper/in a journal, sometimes it is good to just get it out of your head!
- Remind yourself of why you became a Christian, was it to have all your questions answered? Or to follow Christ and glorify Him on earth. Sometimes we also need to know when our questions/doubt is consuming us and derailing us from our faith
We are limited and finite as human beings, we must recognise and accept that. It is not our duty to have all the answers to our own or other people’s questions, we do what we can and give room for God to move. We are His ambassadors on this earth to be a beacon and carry out His mission on earth, we make ourselves available to be used to carry out His good works. Whilst we may not always know what the future holds, we know who holds our future and that my friend, is enough.