Dangerous Questions: A 5-Day Reading Plan by Brenna BlainSample

Day One: Brick by Brick

My entire upbringing involved church and Sunday school, youth camps, and Bible studies. I was told over and over, “God is good! He is with us in our hardship.”

Well, I thought, maybe God is with us unless that hardship includes abuse, depression, or addiction. Because I’m not sure He’s near me right now. I wondered if God was big enough for my problems.

Maybe you have asked the same questions I’ve asked. You’ve wondered how a good God could let hard things happen in your life. You are not alone. While questions and doubts are the natural outflow of the brokenness we experience in the world, voicing them can feel lonely. But as time goes on, the questions don’t fade. In fact, if left unaddressed, they begin to stack up.

We all collect these questions like bricks in a bag. We might experience faith and doubt in the same day, hour, or minute. The Bible tells us about a man who saw Jesus face to face and said, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

You might look around and wonder why your bag of bricks weighs heavily on your shoulders while others seem to have no bricks. I promise you this is not the case. Some people fear condemnation from others that they never give voice to the questions that burden them.

But others have found a place to relinquish their bricks. Rather than tossing them away or getting rid of them, they position and layer them intentionally. Out of these bricks, they have built homes where they dwell, fireplaces where they sit, and kitchens where they gather. Their bricks are not forgotten or dismissed but incorporated, remembered, and seen. They have a purpose. They lead not away from God but closer to Him.

We all have significant questions and doubts, but they don’t need to weigh us down. In fact, when stewarded well, they can become foundational to our lives and lead us to powerful truths. We can become people who inhabit a space built by questions—believers who find that honest questions provide a solid foundation for faith.

Response:

What kinds of questions do you have about God that you are afraid to give voice to? What would it look like to feel safe enough to speak those questions out loud?

Prayer:

Lord, help me trust that my questions and doubts can lead me closer to You. Give me the courage to voice my burdens and the wisdom to see how they can strengthen my faith. Amen.