I read an article by a young woman who shared things a believer should not say to someone who doubts their Christian faith, and suggested what they should say and do instead. She had been raised in a “conservative, evangelical” home, but when she began attending college her faith began to unravel.
She said, “The faith my parents gave me had been constructed like a delicate house of cards.” Her story is not unusual. Many children when they leave home and begin to make a life for themselves and are no longer under the influence of their parents, often experience a crisis of faith, when they must make sense out of what they believe and why they believe it.
Children often “get saved” for a host of reasons. A friend of theirs did, or they want to please their parents, or they want to fit in with the church crowd. But those reasons seldom translate into genuine faith when they are on their own. I am not discrediting the decisions made by children, I came to Christ at the age of eight, I am simply saying sometimes decisions are made for social reasons rather than spiritual reasons.
The words in the New Testament for faith, a noun, and believe, a verb, come from the same root word that means to put one’s trust or confidence in something. Faith at its essence is a decision to trust, it is not a feeling. I can remember at the age of eight making a decision to repent of my sins and trust Christ as my Savior.
As a person matures and begins to search for truth they come to have questions about matters of faith. They want answers; they think they are owed answers to their questions. This was Job’s issue, he felt he was suffering unjustly and God owed him an explanation.
We are like that at times. We think God owes us an explanation, but he doesn’t. Questions are often just a reason not to trust God. I have noticed that once a person decides to trust Christ they no longer have any questions. It is not that the questions do not still exist; they just lose their significance when we trust God. Besides, if we had all of our questions answered there would be no need for faith.
I do not have all the answers myself, but I have all the answers to the most important questions. I know why I exist and my purpose for living.
We read, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him,” Hebrews 11:6. God is pleased when we trust Him whether or not we have all the answers, and faith in God brings me a satisfaction and contentment that is indescribable.
It is my prayer that others will find this “peace of God, that surpasses all comprehension,” Philemon 4:7.
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