Why It’s Important to Bring Our Toughest Questions and Doubts to God without Fear or Shame

Editor’s note: What is a Christian to do when he or she has questions or problems that aren’t “acceptable” at church or in Christian circles? If people reject us won’t God? Brenna Blain’s important new book Can I Say That?: How Unsafe Questions Lead Us to the Real God invites us to bring our worst and most broken to the Jesus who loves us and let Him embrace us. It’s a brave and beautiful book for everyone who has ever struggled with mental health, sexual identity, gender, suicidal ideation, sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, and many other topics that we tend to hide and feel shame about. If someone you know or you wrestle with whether God can handle you, your doubts, your struggles and questions, pick up a copy today. Enjoy this devotion from Brenna!

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“Am I safe, here?” I wondered as I shuffled down the aisle of the church to the back row of chairs I always frequented during Wednesday night youth group. No one here knew I had been sexually abused. No one here knew I was gay. No one here knew I was deeply suicidal. These were the secrets I wanted to keep far from the ears of those who filled the other seats around me, because these were things that held great shame within the walls of faith communities and these things, according to the surrounding narratives, made me unsafe.

I am not the only person who has filled the pews while unsafe questions continued to fill my mind. Churches everywhere are full of those who walk in reality: knowing God is real but experiencing a broken world. For differing reasons, from legalism to fear, so many of these questions do not only go unanswered…they go unspoken. Young people fear the reaction of religious leaders when wrestling through issues such as abortion, use of weed, and gender and sexuality just to name a few. They have seen what happens when someone lets their innermost thoughts out, often being accompanied by shame and guilt.

But what if the church actually began to embody the reaction of Christ towards taboo conversations and unsafe questions?

I believe the Church would become flooded with those who hunger and thirst. And I believe those needs would be met in the person of Jesus.

Realizing Jesus Welcomed the “Unsafe”

I will never forget reading through John 4 for the first time after becoming familiar with the cultural context. Here was a woman, known throughout her town for unsuccessful relationships and used by the men who entered into them. Filled with what we might assume to be shame, she ventures out to the well during the hottest part of the day. This would mean hauling gallons upon gallons of water, in the dead heat, if only to avoid the unkind eyes and whispers of others. But then, Jesus appears.

In any other circumstance, a Jew would avoid a Samaritan. A Rabbi would avoid being seen with a woman alone. So a Samaritan woman…with a gnarly and known past might have been the most taboo combination, deemed unfit for Jesus to draw near to. But of course, as God always does, the Creator comes close to His creation.

In their interaction, despite the disciples' astonishment that He would be willing to be caught with this woman, she expresses her exhaustion in pursuit of peace. She has tried everything to give her life. In deep compassion, Christ tells her of the truth: He is the only thing that gives lasting peace, lasting water for those to never thirst again. 

What would that be like for us? To see the person who we judge the most… meet the person of Jesus? Would it be the family member who has habits you cannot stand? The child whose life has been taken over by addiction? The sex workers from your city? The transgender coworker from your job? 

Let me tell you, these are some of the people who feel the most unsafe in church spaces. 

But what happened to the woman when she allowed Jesus to draw near, speak into her unsafe identity and reality?

She believed.

And what Jesus does next is remarkable. He sends this woman… known throughout her town by her shame, back to her town, to proclaim the good news of Christ to her community. The community that looked at her with judgment and disdain. But instead of going back with the same sense of worthlessness, she enters into town knowing her identity is in Jesus… and shares about her interaction.

• The person with the most taboo past has been redeemed and is not ashamed to tell others of how Jesus met her in the messy middle of it all.

Jesus wants to do that for others and Jesus wants to do that for us. He sees us at our wells, with all our shame, questioning and guilt, and instead of turning and walking the other way, He engages us with significant compassion.

When I was met with the compassion of Christ, I was not seen as gross or a social pariah because of my sexuality. However, I was set free in the submission of my sexuality back to Christ Himself. When I was met with the gentleness of Christ, I was finally brave enough to get help for my past abuse. When I was met by the kindness of Christ, I was finally able to see that He could use a mentally ill girl like me to proclaim the truth.

When we bring our most taboo questions and deepest doubts to God, He will begin a new work that He will also finish. He will redeem it, as only He can.

Watch this video from Brenna

Written for Devotionals Daily by Brenna Blain, author of Can I Say That?: How Unsafe Questions Lead Us to the Real God

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Your Turn 

God can handle your struggle. He knows you and loves you, so you don’t need to hide. Jesus can redeem what we believe to be the unforgiveable and unredeemable. You’re safe to tell Him everything and let Him love you! ~ Devotionals Daily