When the Queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon, “she came to test him with hard questions…. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her” (1 Kings 10:1-3).

We all have hard questions. Life is full of them. Your faith likely started with a question, and the questions will not end there. In a sense, all learning begins with questions, many of which begin with the words: what, when, why, where, or how. Some of the questions arise in our heart—Why did this happen? What is life all about? And other questions arise in our mind—Where is God? How do I know the Bible is real?

In this issue of Turning Points, we want to embrace the questions of life and praise God for the ability to ask them. Questions aren’t bad—the Bible is full of them. Think of the queen of Sheba! She was full of hard questions, and she traveled a long distance to ask them. Solomon wasn’t intimidated by a single one, and neither is He who is greater than Solomon.

Good questions have good answers, but if we never ask the questions, we may never discover the answers. Even Jesus had questions. When He was twelve years old, His parents found Him in the temple, “sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46).

Wouldn’t you have loved to have heard that conversation!

Perhaps you have questions in your heart or mind you’ve never asked. Sometimes we’re afraid to ask a question because we’re afraid there’s no good answer. Suppose, for example, you have occasional doubts about God’s existence or the truthfulness of the stories in the Bible or whether you are truly saved and going to heaven. Some people try to push those questions down, like trying to shove a clown back into a jack-in-the-box.

I believe questions like those have good answers—answers that will increase your insight and strengthen your faith. But if you aren’t willing to ask the questions, you’ll find yourself jumping on the lid of that jack-in-the-box over and over, trying to keep the tension contained.

Since my college days, I’ve been studying everything I can read and research about the Bible, its truthfulness, its supernatural message, its historical background, its daily impact, and its essential veracity. I still have questions, but over the years I’ve found, like the queen of Sheba, that there are indeed good answers that satisfy my heart and my mind. As long as I live, I’ll be searching out more answers, but I’m no longer afraid of asking the questions. They have helped me grow in wisdom and confidence.

Many of my sermons, books, and articles have originated in answers I’ve found to my own questions. Others have come from questions I’ve been asked by others.

That brings me to another point. Even if you don’t have a lot of unanswered questions in your own mind, you’re bound to have a Queen of Sheba approach you at some point. It might be a child or grandchild, a university student who shows up in your Sunday School class, or a coworker who has just watched a documentary about evolution.

We need to respect the questions of others without fear or offense. Our world is awash in skepticism, but humanity is still made with eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We will never be as wise as Solomon or as infallible as Christ, but we can resolve never to be stumped twice by the same question. The Bible says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6).

Our quest for good answers to spiritual questions will not only help us; it will help those God sends to us for encouragement and affirmation. People are looking for periods in life (.), but sometimes the question marks (?) end up as exclamation points (!). How wonderful to see people whose lives are changed by finding God’s answers to their hard questions.

In the following pages, we’ll examine how questioning, doubting, wondering, and searching—though they may be frustrating at times—can lead us to a stronger faith. Let’s explore the various ways our heart and mind are deepened through the process of questioning.