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Key Bible Verse: When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them still doubted (Matthew 28:17).Bonus Reading:Psalm 42:1-11

Surface conversation with a research scientist at a party suddenly got intense. "Do you ever have doubts?" he asked. "Of course," I responded. "Doubt can be a creative prelude to intellectual and spiritual growth. The crucial thing is discovering what to do with our doubts."

Emboldened by my reply, he confided that although he believed in Christ, doubts besieged his scientific mind. He'd left his church after being told it was a sin to doubt. "Do you think it's a sin?" he asked.

"That all depends, on the form your doubt takes." I answered. "Dynamic doubt probes in the context of fellowship with God, while debilitating doubt holds him at arm's length with arrogant resistance."

I challenged him to a 30-day experiment. "Get back into prayerful communion with your Lord in spite of your doubts and ask for the gift of wisdom. In communion with him, dare to doubt your doubts!" At the end of the month, he came to see me. "You were right," he exclaimed. "I was holding God at arm's length with my doubts. Telling him about them broke the bind. I still have doubts, but now I see them as a sign that there's a next step to be taken."

—Lloyd Ogilvie in Asking God Your Hardest Questions

My Response: Instead of suppressing my doubts, I'll ask God for the wisdom to work through them.

Thought to Apply: Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.—Martin Luther King Jr.

Adapted from Asking God Your Hardest Questions (Shaw, 1981, 1984, 1996) by permission.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Thank You, Lord, that while what I believe is beyond comprehension, it's never contrary to reason.

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