“When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.” (1 Kings 10:1 NIV)
Solomon had a reputation. People saw God’s presence in his life. People wanted to know what Solomon knew. The only way to find out what someone else knows is to ask them questions. As Christ followers, people will question our faith. Just like God’s presence drew Queen Sheba to Solomon, people will draw to you. You don’t have to know all the answers. Nor do you have to act like you do. All you need to truly know is where to direct them for the answers they are seeking. Hard questions require honest answers.
Hard questions require honest answers.
Admitting you don’t know everything is humbling for some people. They feel like they have to have all of the answers. But the truth is, no one has all of the answers. No one except Jesus. I don’t know why a 22 year old bride, a week before her wedding died in a car accident. I don’t know why a friend’s daughter died of cancer at 10 years old. I don’t know why COVID is plaguing our society. I don’t know why. But I do know Jesus does. And I trust Him.
Recently I posted a short devotional on prayer. I received a well thought out comment disputing the power of prayer. The person pointed out how prayer had done nothing to stop the death and heartache in this world over the centuries. He listed compelling statistics, including the fact a National Day of Prayer was held for our country, yet we’ve still had over 100,000 deaths from COVID. My heart ached for the pain and suffering he was referring too. But God never promised us a life without pain and suffering:
“I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)
I don’t have the answers to the hard questions. Faith is believing what we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). In today’s world, anyone can research a topic easily on the internet. Messages from pastors on every topic imaginable are on YouTube. Inevitably, one hard truth becomes reality: some questions we’ll never know the answers too until we get to heaven.
Don’t let the hard questions scare you. Understand, some questions don’t have answers. Hard questions require honest answers. “I don’t know” is ok to say. God loves you, even if you don’t know all the answers.
Question of the Day:
Are you comfortable saying, “I don’t know?”
Further Reading: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29 NIV, Acts 8:14-40 NIV, Psalm 130:1-8 NIV, Proverbs 17:2-3 NIV
