I had a question on the weekend, ‘What do you do with your doubts?’

A good question, for we all have doubts and questions. Here were my quick thoughts (even if my quick words did not convey them well).

1.
Know your own doubts. Some people mainly have intellectual queries (can I trust the history in the Bible?), others more moral (how is it fair for God to judge evil?), yet others have questions of personal confidence (surely God would not love someone like me!).

Knowing yourself will help you understand where to look for answers. It also puts the question in a different setting – the personal variation shows that the troubles are ours, not God’s.

2.
Think of your doubts as the opposite of a plant. Plants thrive with adequate light and attention. Doubts flourish by shoving them into a dark corner and trying to neglect them. Bring the doubts into the open. God’s not scared of them. And you have not ever come up with something new – sorry to burst your bubble there.

3.
Seek with humility. A single question can be asked with cynical faithlessness, or with humble expectation. The former is a demand of God (prove it, buster, or I’m outta here). What arrogance! God sent his son, who willingly went to the cross for a rebellious world – God has nothing to prove to us. The second method admits of pain or difficulty, but seeks comfort instead of confrontation (God, this is so painful and I can’t see what you’re doing, but I long to know why).