Soul Scientist

***This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Please come back next week for part 2.***

If you’re anything like me your head is often full of all kinds of questions about all kinds of things and all types of people, almost all of the time. Thankfully, most of those questions aren’t known by anyone except God and me. Because most of the time my many questions should only be between God and me.

Especially those questions which I only wanted to ask to make me look good…

Scientist-me learned early on from my scientist-daddy that “always” and “never” are 2 words to be used with much hesitation and reservation. Because always and never usually aren’t appropriate answers to many questions.

Except those questions which involve God.

Which if you think about it, all important questions involve God.

And you don’t have to be a journalist to ask and appreciate questions which may seem simple at first glance but can have impact lasting long past our lives into eternity.

Questions like these:

1. Who am I?
2. Where do I fit in?
3. What should I do next?
4. Why am I here now?
5. When is the right time for this action (or not)?
6. How will this end?

Scripture gives us answers to all these questions. To clarify, God put the answers there for us in the Bible for us to discover and change our lives accordingly. It’s our privilege and our responsibility to dig the answers up and draw them out and display them for others searching to know truth and be set free by our Jesus, the Way, the Life, and the Truth (see John 8:32 & 14:6 NIV).

Our task as Christians who write is far bigger than words or ideas which might sound good to us or to others. For our task is to show our readers that Jesus is the Yes and Amen to God’s promises and every question that has them by the throat in fear and/or shame and guilt (see 2 Corinthians 1:20).

Granted, the answers to those questions may (or may not) be ones we want to hear, much less apply to our lives. Because many times truth requires us to ask ourselves questions like these:

1. What does God want me to do with what’s in me or who’s in front of me? Be it time, talent, treasure, trial, test, temptation, troublemaker, or that person trying to trample my very last nerve.
2. How would Jesus have me respond to this calling, this conviction, this circumstance, this consequence, or this commitment?
3. Why can’t I just be done with this addiction, this attitude, this anger, this ambition, this arrogance, and the attention needed to keep it (or them) away from my thoughts and out of my heart?
4. When will all this pain be over? When will Your purpose be seen?
5. Who do You want me to love today?
6. Where have You planned for these questions to be of help to others or to me?

As a writer, I’ve learned that most times the best place for my words to go is to God in prayer and then maybe onwards out from there to others. As a scientist, I’ve seen and experienced bunches of data to support the supposition seen in James 5:16 MSG The fervent prayer of a righteous person makes things happen.

God does the making us righteous of that verse while we do the making us fervent from that verse.

Let me say that again: God does the making us righteous of that verse while we do the making us fervent from that verse.

As importantly, God equips us to bring every prayer to Him through the confidence in prayer He gives us as co-heirs with Christ (see Hebrews 4:16 and Romans 8:17).

***Please come back next week for Part 2.***

In case you were wondering, these were notes from a talk I gave over the weekend for encouraging a writer’s group in their choices of writing as unto God with every word. I hope that these words also brought courage to you for whatever task you do today (and again tomorrow, too!).

written by and copyrighted to Beth Madison, Ph.D., 2026.