I love to answer people’s questions, particularly if they are existential, moral, or theological in nature. But I’m also afraid of people asking questions, because what if I don’t know the answer?
But I know the God who knows everything. I know the God who will generously give me wisdom if I ask. I’ve learned that it’s okay not to know the answer, because I can go find it. I can go study, I can go ask, and then I can return to the original questioner with the answer.
I used to be afraid of putting myself in a position where people can ask me hard questions. Well, sometimes I’m still afraid of it, but I will never get better at answering if I don’t let people ask questions. You don’t get good at anything without doing it a lot and going through a learning curve yourself. I won’t go find out things I didn’t know if I don’t listen to a question. I think harder and better when someone brings up a question I can’t answer, because it shows me the mindset of another, and that the question may need to be answered in a different way than I thought. I find that when people ask hard questions, this causes me to listen more to God and to read the Bible better.
It’s okay not to know the answer if you go find it. It’s okay to admit you don’t know the answer and will need to get back to someone. It’s okay for a question to take a long time to answer. It’s okay to struggle with a question, just let God show you the Truth.
For more:
“Do You Have Any Questions?”
You Are Allowed to Ask Questions
Giving an Answer