21 Days of DiscipleshipSample

He’s Not Afraid of Questions

In John 10, Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd and the Son of God. If you happen to have a running list of who Jesus is … here are a few things to add from previous chapters: He’s the Word, the Savior of the World, the Living Water, the fulfillment of Scripture, the Bread of Life, God’s provision from heaven, the constant One, the One to trust, the Messiah, and the Miracle Worker! Maybe you needed to be reminded of one of those things today. If so, take some time to just sit still and contemplate Jesus.

In verse 37 of this chapter, Jesus says:

“If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me.” John 10:37 ESV

Basically, this is Jesus putting His money where His mouth is. He’s saying, “Okay, you’ve heard who I claim to be and you’ve seen the things I’m doing. If those two don’t line up, then go ahead, call Me crazy!”

Jesus welcomes the scrutiny, because He lived with complete integrity. We will find no inconsistencies in Him. He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

But being a disciple of Jesus doesn’t mean we never have doubts. Jesus was speaking directly to people who doubted Him, showing them what to do with those questions. Because doubts don’t disqualify us from following Jesus. They can actually serve to strengthen our faith as we investigate. So, what do we do when we have doubts and questions?

We bring our questions to God, knowing that He’s not ashamed of us or embarrassed by us. We process our doubts with people we trust, knowing that our faith is strengthened when we are willing to investigate. And we continue to follow Jesus anyway, knowing that it’s always worth it.

Challenge: Will you do this? Write down a question you have for God and bring that to Him. Process any doubts you may have with one of the trusted people doing this Plan with you. And keep on following Jesus. At this halfway point, don’t stop. Stay committed to finishing what you started.