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“Jon inherited your curiosity, didn’t he?” My uncle’s cheeky comment was in good fun as he bent low to answer my toddler’s barrage of questions about the reel on his fishing pole. Jon did, in fact, inherit my curiosity, and during that season of mothering, I found his toddler brain’s Q&A intense as he worked to make sense of the world. Can we have the same curiosity regarding faith and doubt?
While I was often able to answer his “why?” with a toddler-level explanation of how something worked, more than a few times, he’d ask a question that I could not answer. My inability to answer the question had no bearing on whether the car started or why the duck waddling across the road had sparkly (toddler speak for iridescent) feathers. These things worked or existed regardless of whether I could explain precisely how or why. Interesting. Faith and doubt could coexist.
The reminder that truth exists without regard to whether I understand it or can describe it was one of those significant parenting moments that shaped my perspective on questions of faith and doubt. I don’t have to have all the answers to love God with my whole heart, mind, and soul (Matt 22:37-38). That being said, my belief in God doesn’t require blind faith. Just like my son, I have questions—a lot of them. As I’ve walked my faith journey, I’ve had to determine which of my questions fall into the category of curiosity and which fall into the category of possible deal-breakers regarding my faith. I’ve encountered both, and I handle them differently.
Consider Your Questions
Are your questions potential faith deal-breakers, or are you merely curious about something? This distinction needs careful consideration if you’re going to navigate the tension between faith and doubt.
Questions of curiosity do not rattle my faith in God. I understand that there are some things I will not fully comprehend on this side of Heaven. (Romans 11:33-36, 1 Cor. 13:12, Proverbs 3:5) Rather than argue (with myself or others) or waste emotional energy on my curiosity questions, I resolve them with an “I’ll ask Jesus when I see Him.” answer. An important note: my curiosity questions might differ from yours, and that’s okay. We each decide whether a question is a curiosity question or a potential deal-breaker.
Let’s talk about those harder, potential deal-breaker questions. I’ve encountered several during my faith journey, and I’ve learned the following:
Bring Your Faith and Doubt Questions to God
God can handle our hardest questions. And He can—and will—meet us as we wrestle with our faith. I’ve learned to bring my most serious questions to God, pray for wisdom and discernment, and stay in relationship with God as I work through them. (James 1:5-6, Hebrews 4:14-16). God is gracious and merciful, and He will help us navigate even our most difficult questions. (Proverbs 2)
Know the Character of God as Revealed Through Scripture
One of the best ways to protect ourselves from twisty theology, mixed-up theology, or doubts arising from hard parts of our faith journey is to read the Bible for ourselves regularly. As you listen to sermons and podcasts and read books and articles, be careful to weigh what someone has to say against Scripture (Hebrews 4:12). Be especially watchful for anything straying from the Great Commandment found in Matthew 22:37-40:
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Staying close to God through prayer and reading Scripture may not prevent the thorniest questions of faith from arising, but they will give you powerful tools to navigate faith and doubt and emerge with a faith that is stronger and more resilient than before.
Listen to a short segment of this Abide meditation based on James 1:5-6. Let God speak to your heart about seeking wisdom to help you with your questions about faith and doubt.
Let Abide be your daily companion as you ride the tension between faith and doubt. Our more than 1500 guided meditations, like the one above, all exist to help you along your journey of faith. Download the app and start a premium subscription which gives you access to our entire library of content. Use this link for 25% off.
Julie loves encouraging women in their faith journeys through writing and speaking. A co-author of several devotionals, you can follow her at The Ruth Experience online and through social media.
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