Is it okay to doubt certain aspects of your faith?
During a year in Oxford, England, Andrea Lucado wrestled with her identity as a human, a foreigner in a strange land, and as a believer in Christ. She began to question everything about herself, even her faith.
“I think we can be afraid to ask those questions and we can often equate doubt to heresy as if you can’t believe and ask questions.”
Andrea believes that we are called to live in the tension between belief and doubt.
“If I’ve learned anything, it’s that we are supposed to live in the tension between having some questions answered and some not answered. It doesn’t have to be one of the other. Belief can be complicated and layered. Sometimes you believe strongly one day and not the next day.”
This doesn’t mean that Andrea believed she was a Christian one day and not a Christian another. For many Christians, struggling with doubt is not a sign of a weak faith.
Over the year she spent in Oxford, Andrea says one thing kept her grounded above all else.
“Staying in Christian community was so key for me that year. I think a part of my church attendance was a robotic preacher’s kid thing. That’s just where I wandered to on Sunday mornings, I didn’t know what else to do. It strengthened my faith to at least be near other believers.”
Andrea encourages anyone who has questions about their faith to lean into their questions while still staying at least somewhat connected to a Christian community.
“I know sometimes that’s kind of the last thing you want, but if you have a friend who is a believer and has gone before you, just meet with them if church is just too much for you.”
Andrea Lucado is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. The daughter of bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado, Andrea inherited an obsession with words and their arrangement.
Featured Songs: Oh, My Soul – Casting Crowns; Ever Be – Aaron Shust; Desert Song – Hillsong
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