Lighting Up Our City Video 6: Dealing With Hard Questions and DoubtsSample

When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. (Luke 12:1-2)

Do you ever get frustrated with people who ask about something that seems obvious? We may wonder how they still “don’t get it” even if we have tried to explain it to them in a variety of ways. Even though teachers often say, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question,” aren’t we often tempted to say, “That’s a stupid question”?

Thankfully, Jesus didn’t respond in the ways that I might. Even though he was the perfect teacher, a lack of understanding and multiple questions was something Jesus experienced frequently, especially with His companions, the disciples. Even though they traveled with Him and listened to His teaching in the synagogues or in the hills of Galilee, they still didn’t get it.

We need to learn from Jesus’ example of how to be patient. And we need to press into the power of the Holy Spirit who “will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:12).

This happens to Philip (Acts 8:26-40). The incident occurs after Jesus has died, risen, and the Holy Spirit anointed the disciples. An angel of the Lord prompts Philip to go on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. Philip goes, and there he meets an Ethiopian man who is reading from the prophet Isaiah and has difficulty understanding it. Then, Philip tells him “the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture” (Acts 8:35), and the man asks to be baptized. The Holy Spirit provides Philip with all he needs to answer the Ethiopian’s questions about Jesus and the scriptures.

When I am unsure what to do when someone has questions or wants me to explain something about God or the Bible, I can first pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and the right words, and I can turn to the examples of Jesus and Philip.

I am thankful for these mentors in the Bible who teach me and guide me. You can trust them, too, to show you the way.

By Teresa Baumbach