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Katherine O’Neill explores why doubt is not the enemy of faith but one of its most important teachers. Drawing on Scripture, therapy practice, and the testimony of fellow believers, she invites readers to stop silencing their hard questions and start bringing them honestly to God \u2014 where real relationship, and unshakeable trust, begin.<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared in the<\/em> Just Between Us Weekly Digital Magazine<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n By\u00a0Katherine O\u2019Neill<\/p>\n Long ago, when I was starting high school, my father said: \u201cYou\u2019re going to encounter a lot of new ideas, some perhaps challenging, some seemingly at odds with your faith. Don\u2019t worry. Don\u2019t dismiss it. Just ask yourself the question, \u2018Is it true?\u2019 because if it\u2019s true, then it comes from Jesus, who said \u2018I am the Truth.\u2019\u201d It was perhaps the single most helpful piece of advice I\u2019ve ever received.<\/p>\n Doubt is not a problem. If we\u2019re honest, we can all probably point to things in the Bible that bother us. Maybe it\u2019s angry, vengeful statements that don\u2019t sound like a loving God, or weird stories that don\u2019t seem to bring us any closer to Him. Or we might object to some of the social injustices accepted in the Bible\u2014such as slavery, or the subordination of women. Or maybe there are specific doctrines in our faith that trouble us, ideas that we wrestle with: We are taught this, but I don\u2019t know<\/em>\u2026 God has no problem with this. It\u2019s a sign that we are serious in our faith.<\/p>\n Drawing Near Through Doubt<\/strong><\/p>\n After all, doubt has a noble pedigree. In Luke\u2019s gospel, when the angel announces to Mary, a virgin, that she will have God\u2019s child, she asks: \u201cHow will this be?\u201d (Luke 1:34). In Genesis, when God promises Abraham that Sarah, then 90, will have a son, he just laughs\u2014and nine months later, they name their newborn \u201cLaughter,\u201d because God has the last laugh on that one (Gen. 17). And we all remember Thomas, who demands proof of the resurrection and actually receives it: he touches Jesus\u2019s wounds (John 20). These great people of faith experienced doubt, and God wasn\u2019t angry about it. On the contrary: it brought them closer.<\/p>\n Want more encouragement? Read the full article in<\/em> Just Between Us Magazine on Substack<\/em><\/a>\u2014your weekly source of biblical encouragement for women.<\/em><\/p>\n Read the Full Article in the Magazine \u2192<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n