God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” (Genesis 15:5-8)
So one moment Abram takes God at his word. But the next, he’s got a question: “How can I be sure?”
I think it’s interesting that faith and doubt go hand in hand. Faith doesn’t always displace doubt. Zechariah wanted assurance that an old man could still have a son (Luke 1). Gideon wanted some fleece signs (Judges 6). The apostle Thomas wanted to see the resurrected Christ with his own eyes (John 20). Mary wondered, “How can this be, since I am a virgin” (Luke 1)?
Well, that’s a relief. My questions don’t negate my faith. I can still ask God, “Are you sure?” “How are you going to do that?” “Are you serious?” “You want me to do what?”
Actually, doubts and questions are a wonderful sign of faith. You know God loves you so much you can ask him anything. Anything. He knows. He knows you have questions. He knows you have doubts. He knows his commands and promises are out there. Way out there. He knows it’s not going to be easy to trust him. It doesn’t bother him at all.
Just trust him enough to ask. He wants to hear from you. He wants to hear your questions. He wants to walk with you through your doubts.
Do you trust God enough to ask him hard questions?
After teaching a class, I usually ask, “Any questions?” If there’s silence, I wonder, “Was anyone listening?” I’m not the greatest teacher. And you’re all not ideal students.
Humor me. Just ask.
Waite for it... 