Three Tips for Tough Questions

Time to read: 2 mins

Lots of people have questions about the Christian faith. No doubt you do too. There is nothing unusual about this. Even experienced Christians have questions or things they don’t understand. There have always been topics that the greatest theologians and Bible scholars have struggled with.

Of course, sometimes it’s not so much the question that is hard but the answer, and our human nature doesn’t like it so tries to find a different one.

It’s not wrong to want to understand things, but when it comes to these hard questions (and answers), there are three principles it can be helpful to keep in mind. On the surface these might seem like a cop-out, but if you think about them carefully, you’ll actually find them reasonable and encouraging.

As an aside, we’re collecting people’s biggest questions – if you haven’t already, take our 2 minute survey to tell us yours. And, don’t forget, you can Ask Footsteps! any time and we’ll do our best to help.

Three tips for tough questions:

1. Remember that God is sovereign – God created the world and each of us living in it. He is therefore completely sovereign and can do exactly as he pleases. However, he will always act in accordance with his holy, just and righteous character. We therefore have no right to question God’s actions or the things God says. (See: Daniel 4:35; Psalm 115:3; Psalm 145:17; 2 Chronicles 20:6; Romans 9:20-21)
2. Don’t expect to understand everything – God is God, we are human. He is infinite, we are limited by the capabilities of our mind and body. We therefore won’t be able to understand everything God does, or everything he tells us. However, we do know that everything he does is for the good of his people, and for his honour and glory. (See: Isaiah 55:8-9; 1 Corinthians 1:25; Romans 8:28)
3. Sometimes we just have to accept things – We are called to believe what the Bible actually says, not what we would like it to say. We are called to submissively live out the pathway God has given us, not anxiously or discontentedly look for a different one. This requires faith, so when we have hard things in our lives, we must pray to God for the faith to respond rightly. (See: James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:6; Matthew 26:39; Luke 17:5)

When you have a tough question, a hard answer or a difficult circumstance, pray it through keeping these three principles in mind. It might enable you to stop worrying about something and help you find some peace in trusting that God really does know best.

[A00077 – 22/06/2018]