Faith When You Have Questions

You believe in Jesus. Then something happens that you don't understand, or somebody asks a question you don't know how to answer, and you wonder what that says about your faith.

Maybe you've been told a real believer wouldn't have those questions. Maybe nobody said it out loud, but everybody around you sounded so certain that you figured you were the only one who had any.

He needed help

A father in Mark 9 had a boy who was suffering terribly. An unclean spirit would throw him to the ground, and sometimes into fire or water. The father had brought him to Jesus's disciples, but they hadn't been able to help.

When Jesus arrived, there was a crowd, and religious experts were arguing with the disciples. In the middle of all that was a father with a boy he couldn't fix.

Jesus asked how long it had been happening. Since childhood, the father said. Then he asked Jesus to have compassion and help them, if he could.

If you can. There's hope in that, and there's uncertainty. He'd come for help. He wanted to believe something could be done. He'd also just watched the disciples try and fail.

Jesus took up those words: "If you can!" That may be my favorite thing He says in all the Gospels. I can just see His face. My dad used to make that face when I said something stupid. Then Jesus told the father that all things are possible for the one who believes, and the father answered immediately: "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

That's an honest answer. The man believed, and he knew he needed help with his belief. He brought both to Jesus.

And Jesus helped him. He drove the spirit out and gave the boy back to his father.

You don't have to pretend

The dad's faith wasn't perfect. Thank God it didn't have to be.

He needed Jesus to do what he couldn't. He couldn't heal his son. He couldn't undo the years of suffering. And in that moment, he couldn't produce a flawless account of his own confidence. He could tell Jesus the truth and ask for help.

None of us are fully baked yet. We believe, and we still get rattled. We know things about Jesus, and there's still plenty we don't understand.

Be honest with Him about that. Tell Him, "I believe you. I need help with this." You don't have to make your prayer sound better than your actual thoughts.

That honesty also helps when you're talking to other people. If you don't understand something in the Bible, say so. If something you've been taught doesn't seem to fit what Jesus said, ask about it. You're allowed to learn.

There are reasons to believe

A question about Jesus and a question about your feelings aren't the same question, and they get mixed up fast.

If you're wondering who Jesus is, look at what the Gospels tell us about Him. Read what He said, what He did, and what His followers testified about His death and resurrection.

The women who followed Jesus watched Him die. They followed Joseph of Arimathea and saw where the body was laid. They came back on Sunday morning and found the tomb empty. If I wanted you to believe something I filmed was real, I'd shoot it in one continuous shot, with no cuts and no camera tricks. Those women are that one continuous shot. They saw the whole thing, from the cross to the burial to the empty tomb. (Luke 23:49–24:10)

Even then, the empty tomb didn't settle it for them. They believed when they remembered what Jesus had told them. (Luke 24:6–8)

If you're wondering whether you feel certain enough, more examination of your feelings may just produce more questions about your feelings. You can spend an awful lot of time asking whether you really, really believe.

John says God has testified about His Son: God has given us eternal life, and that life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. Then John says he wrote so people who believe in the name of God's Son could know they have eternal life. (1 John 5:11–13)

You're believing what God says about Jesus, and your confidence can grow as you understand who He is and what He's done for you.

Learning as somebody who belongs

Jesus's own disciples had plenty to learn. In Mark 9, they're confused about His coming death and resurrection. They argue about who's greatest. John reports that they tried to stop somebody from casting out demons in Jesus's name because he wasn't one of their group.

Jesus has to teach them. He corrects what they're getting wrong. He shows them how to care about people they were ready to dismiss.

Those are the guys He chose. Their need to learn didn't surprise Him.

You may need to work through things you were taught years ago. You may find that a question you thought threatened your faith turns out to be about somebody's interpretation or a church rule. Other questions may take longer. Find people who'll read with you, listen, and help you think. And talk to God the way you actually talk, without pretending you're somebody else.

The father in Mark came to Jesus because he needed help. That's a good reason to come to Him. Believe in the one who's able to save you, and ask Him to help with the things you're still trying to understand.

— tobe