YOU CAN BE A BELIEVER AND STILL HAVE QUESTIONS

In the vocabulary of many Christians, "doubt" is always an ugly word. Having questions is treated as sin. For some, uncertainty is something that must not be spoken of. Just as no one would stand up to give a testimony and admit that they are struggling with questions. Many churches today have created an unrealistic image of what a “good” Christian looks like. For them, a believer with faith is a believer with no questions. As they often say, “Just believe.”

But is it possible to have faith and still have questions? Yes—faith can coexist with doubt. You can be a believer and still wrestle with questions. In Mark 9, we read the words of a man: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24). And Jesus performed a miracle in response to his faith. In that moment, surrounded by “faithless people” (v. 19), this man’s faith was remarkable! His words reveal the reality that you can believe and still doubt.

How is this possible? Faith is a decision to believe. Faith is not the absence of questions—it is choosing to believe in spite of them. Take Abraham, the “father of faith” (Rom. 4:11). Long before he offered Isaac, we read, “He believed in the Lord” (Gen. 15:6). Yet, in the same conversation, he asked God questions (vv. 2, 8). He believed the promise, even while uncertain. His hesitation did not cancel his faith. In fact, he asked questions because he believed! God called him to go to a land He promised, and Abraham obeyed—even though he had no idea where it was (Heb. 11:8). Surely, he must have asked God along the way. And though Abraham failed many times, Scripture still calls him a man of great faith.

The Bible is filled with stories of people who wrestled with doubts and yet still believed. Read the questions of Job, Moses, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, Mary, Peter, and many more! By today’s standards, many would probably judge them as lacking faith. But the truth is, you can believe and still have doubts.

Now, here’s the more important question: What will you do with your doubts? Face them. Seek the answers. Ask God. Study. Read. Research. Evaluate. Questions left unaddressed often lead to unbelief—that place where you stop believing altogether and throw everything away. Scripture repeatedly warns us against this. Look at the Bereans, described as noble believers (Acts 17:11). They believed, and yet they still wanted to be sure. “They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Their careful searching led them in the right direction. Their questioning faith became their legacy.

A faith that cannot stand against reason is a faith not worth keeping. How will you know that what you believe is true if you never test it? Faith is not a blind leap in the dark. True faith is an informed decision to believe. Strong and authentic faith is the kind that has passed through the fire of doubt, questioning, and testing. Those who simply “just believe” are often the ones who don’t really know what they believe. These are the people most vulnerable to wrong ideas and blind faith.

So stay curious, my friend.