Hard Questions of Faith: Wrestling with Doubt and Belief with J.D. Greear Episode 312

Hard Questions of Faith: Wrestling with Doubt and Belief

Today, we are tackling some hard questions of faith with J.D. Greear. Whether you are asking these questions right now or want to be empowered to address these questions when someone you love or lead comes to you with them, we’ve got you covered. 

J.D. Greear is a pastor, best-selling author of several books, and host of The 12 Truths & A Lie Podcast. His new book, 12 Truths & a Lie: Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions, tackles some of the most frequently asked questions he’s received over the course of his ministry and offers thoughtful, scriptural, and practical insight. 

Hard Questions of Faith: What’s The Big Lie?

J.D. tells us that the big lie is that the presence of doubts and difficult questions means there is something defective about our faith or that we believe we are a bad Christian. A lot of Christians, J.D. finds that when he verbalizes some of his own questions and doubts, they’re like, “I’ve asked that same thing, and I thought I was the only one.” 

But what makes people so afraid of doubt? J.D. says sometimes it’s explicit, and sometimes it’s more implicit, like if someone has their heart right, they’re gonna see things the right way. However, J.D. shares that one of the refreshing things to him is that the majority of our Bibles are written by people who were in a season of doubt. Whether we’re talking about the Old Testament or New Testament, it’s people saying, “God, I don’t understand why, if you care about us, if you love us, if you are who you say you are, then why isn’t this happening?”

God Can Use Our Doubts

God is using doubt to drive us deeper into him. It’s been said that doubt is like a foot poised like you pick up your foot to go either forward or backward. It’s true that doubt can drive you backward into unbelief and despair, but it’s also true that you’ll never actually take significant steps forward until you pick up your foot. And so that doubt is often divinely used as a way of drawing you deeper into who God is and the majesty and the mystery of who He is. Beautifully said, J.D. 

Hard Questions of Faith: Why Isn’t God Answering My Prayer? 

J.D. says one of the things we find is that when we pray, we’re praying to a God who is not only infinite in power and love but also infinite in wisdom. He knows more than us. So there are a handful of reasons why God might not be answering your prayers, but sometimes it just comes down to me praying to a heavenly Father that I can trust. Sometimes, He says, be persistent, keep asking, keep knocking. But sometimes He says, you know, I heard you, and my answer right now is I know more than you, and I’m going to do something better than what you’re asking. This is where our trust in God comes in – He knows more! 

Coaching This Week:

Simple Things That Give you The Most ROI (21:14 )

We are women who work smarter, not harder! We’re committed to the truth that small changes will bring us big results. So, today, I want to talk to you about the simple things in life that give you the most return on your investment, or ROI. Now, that investment for you is going to be either time, attention, or money. Whatever it is, these things help us be successful in life.

And on the other hand, if we don’t do these things, it’s like we’re kneecapping ourselves and making everything harder, these little things. These little choices affect how we spend our time, attention, and our money. 

Here are some examples of activities that compound benefits for life: 

1. Prayer:
   • To feel great, we need to pray every day, connect with God, and tune in to him.
2. Good Sleep:
   • Means getting the amount of sleep you need to feel great. For some people, it’s seven hours, and for some, it’s nine hours. I don’t care what anyone says; below seven hours, you need more.
3. Exercise:
   • We must move our bodies for at least 20 minutes a day. Yes, it’s good for our health, but it’s great for our mental health. We need to exercise to deal with the stress that comes to us every day.
4. Investing In Yourself:
   • Listening to my podcast, buying a new course, and reading a great book are investments in your present and future. The more you educate yourself, the more you know and the more wisdom you collect. Wisdom is so important.
5. Eating Real Food:
   • We know that the standard American diet makes us sad. And the more we eat it, the sadder and less healthy we get. The more we can eat real foods in our diet, the more it compounds and keeps us healthier. We’ll have energy, look better, and live longer. 
6. Spending Time With Friends:
   • I’ve discussed on my show the Harvard study done over 75 years ago on what makes life feel fulfilling. The number one thing is the quality of our relationships. So we have to schedule time to spend with friends. In all honesty, I’m not good at this season of life. I’m not gonna pretend that I have that area of life perfectly managed. I’m working on it.
7. Digital Detox:
   • Maybe it’s for a period of time removing social media from your phone. Definitely unfollow accounts that aren’t beneficial. Now, I don’t think that it means we shouldn’t follow accounts that inspire us, but inspiring us is different than following accounts that actually just stoke envy.
8. Drink Enough Water:
   • Now, I have admitted to you, and I wrote about it in the last book, that I do not like water unless I’m at an amusement park and I’m thirsty. So, I live on Gatorade Zero. I know, artificial sweetener, don’t judge me. I live on Gatorade Zero and decaf green tea. I drink it all day long, and I love it. So just make sure that whatever you’re doing, you’re staying hydrated.

That’s a long list of the things that compound benefits in your life in a really huge way. None of them are that hard to do or will change your life in a huge way. They’re easy to do. None of them are painful to do, except sometimes moving your body can be a little painful when you haven’t for a long time. But I want you to think about that list, and your action step this week is to make sure that you’re optimizing your life for the simple things that give you the most ROI. 

Pick three things, or if you’re feeling really overwhelmed and a little burned out in life this season, pick one thing and start it. I want you to say yes to activities because you want to do them. And I want you to say no to activities that you would normally say yes to out of guilt. I want you to have a little space and a little margin in your calendar. Do one thing, two things, or three things this week that are going to compound great benefits for your life. Because as you’ve heard me say time and time again, a healthier you benefits everyone around you!

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Favorite Quotes: 

“The majority of our Bible is written by people who are in a season of doubt whether we are talking about the Old Testament or New Testament.”

(4:08 Audio)

“Doubt is often divinely used as a way of drawing you deeper into who God is and the majesty and mystery of who he is.”

(5:03 Audio)

“One of the things you find is when you are praying you are praying to a God who is not only infinite in power and infinite in love. He is also infinite in wisdom.”

(10:59 Audio)

“Sometimes He says be persistent and keep asking and knocking but sometimes he says he heard you and He is always answering but the answer right now is I know more than you and I am going to do something better than what you’re asking.”

(11:44 Audio) 

Links to Great Things We Discussed:

• J.D. Greear Website
• J.D. Greear Instagram
• 12 Truths & a Lie: Answers to Life’s Biggest Questions
• Thank You Jesus for the Blood – Charity Gayle
• Should’ve Been A Cowboy – Toby Keith
• The Chosen
• For All Mankind
• Master of the Air
• Massage Gun
• Endel App
• Ember Mug
• Lapsang Souchong Black Tea
• Athleta Brooklyn Skort 
• The Course Creator’s Blueprint: 10 Lessons That Will Help You Get Started
• Alli on YouTube
• Remaining You While Raising Them

Order your copy of Remaining You While Raising Them here.

Hope you loved this episode!  Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! 🙂

xo,

Alli