Doubters Welcomed
Two Kinds of Doubts
I have doubted many things throughout my life, chief of which was God’s interest in me. How could I be sure that He cared like the Bible said He did when life convinced me otherwise? I also had intellectual doubts regarding some of His claims.
Doubting God shows up for me or anyone else in one of two ways. I doubt His love and goodness, or I doubt His power to help. When suffering happens, I wonder if He cares or is willing to help. I struggle to believe He is able to give hope or bring change. The suffering could be my own or what I observe in the pain of this world.
Doubting Thomas
I’m grateful for Thomas, one of the disciples who walked and talked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Just after Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to ten of the disciples in the locked room where they hid for fear of the Jews. Two disciples were missing–Judas, who died, and Thomas.
We read what happened in John 20:24-25 (ESV).
“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’”
Thomas, like I have done, doubted Jesus. He doubted that Jesus had the power to make Himself rise from the dead. No one had ever done that before. Thomas wanted proof. He wanted tangible evidence of Jesus’s resurrection. Until Thomas had that confirmation, he refused to believe.
Grace for our Doubts
Jesus is Almighty Omniscient God. He knows everything, including our doubts. He is not surprised by our unbelief. He remembers that we are limited in our capacity to understand. He is blessed by our faith, but knows that it is a process for us to learn to trust and be certain of Him.
We see the grace of Jesus in our doubts by His response to Thomas, found in John 20:26-28 (ESV).
“Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
Jesus didn’t shame Thomas for his doubts. Instead, the first time He was with Thomas, He went straight to him, inviting Thomas to witness the tangible evidence of His resurrection. This is God’s way. When we doubt, He will be faithful to reveal Himself to us. He wants to help us know Him so that we trust Him. The more we know and trust Him, the more we will be blessed.
Growth in Certainty
After Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas, He called Thomas to a deeper level of faith. He declared that greater blessing comes through believing without seeing. This kind of faith comes from deep intimacy with Jesus. As I grow in knowing Jesus, I can trust Him when I don’t yet know when or if the struggles I’m going through will end.
John 20:29 (ESV) “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
God welcomes our doubts because in working through our doubts, we move to faith. We find certainty in Jesus.
John 20:27 “Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’”
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