Am I Gonna Get Hit By Lightning?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

If I admit that I feel doubt will I get scratched out of the book of life? (Rev. 20:15) If I ask questions, do I make God mad? If I get mad at God, does he reject me?

I hope not. Because I do all those things, every day. I really don’t have any choice. Thoughts and doubts pop into my head all the time. Call them the devil if you want. That’s fine. The devil has a firm hold on this world, and I’m in this world (if not of it,) so I can’t avoid the devil. Here are a Christian's choices, as far as I see:

1. Pretend I don’t feel doubt (Contradictions? La la la not listening!) and hide in the crowd of “happy” Christians. (They’re all happy? All the time? What’s wrong with me?)


2. Reject a God who usually appears to be hateful or, at best, uncaring. I’ve been an agnostic, but I’ve never fully turned my back on God. I was more like a teenager who says “I hate you!” to her parents when she doesn’t get her way.


3. Keep praying, keep listening, keep reading, keep asking questions. And, yeah, keep doubting.

I’m not sure if I’ll get the answers to those questions. I often say jokingly that when I get to the pearly gates, I’m going to have a looong list, though. (#1 on the list is “If You’re all-loving, [1 John 4:8] why do you allow suffering?”) Other questions, like “What were Dinosaurs doing in a 6000-year-old world?” aren’t even on my radar. So what? What does that have to do with the way I live today? I think one of the worst things we do as Christians is making up our own answers to our questions, just to make ourselves feel better. That leads to silly answers, like “dinosaur bones were put in the ground to confuse non-believers.” (WHAT? God is TRYING to lead people astray?)

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

A friend of mine says, “If God can handle anything, He can handle my silly little doubts. He can handle my questions. He can even handle my temper tantrums.” The important thing is to trust Him anyway. If I feel questions arise (and I do!) I turn them over to Him. Sometimes I even get answers! God loves me and I love God. Now the important thing is to spread that love. I don’t want to just tell about it. God wants me to pass it on.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Peace, Love, Trust