Doubting Godಮಾದರಿ

The Right Crew

The middle of a renovation is messy and chaotic, and that’s why we usually recruit a crew to help us out. It’s difficult to address a leak on your own—we often need others to help us address the problem.

Similarly, doubt is a scary thing to navigate on your own, and Jesus wants us to bring it to Him and to trusted friends in our lives.

When we handle our doubts on our own, it can lead us to become angry and cynical. Sometimes, we’re even tempted to tear the whole house down in the process.

But the house isn’t the problem. Similarly, in our faith, questioning our beliefs doesn’t mean we burn our faith to the ground.

Along the way, we may uncover some beliefs that don’t line up with Scripture, and just like Peter, we may need Jesus to correct us along the way. But just because you believed a few things that weren’t true doesn’t mean Scripture isn’t true.

As we learned with Thomas, Jesus gives us permission both to have faith and to look for evidence. We can believe in the resurrection both because of our faith in who Jesus is and because of the evidence that exists around it.

But trying to navigate our questions on our own is a recipe for disaster. Let’s go back to Thomas’ story.

When Thomas expresses his doubt, he’s been dealing with his thoughts and feelings by himself. He wasn’t with the other disciples behind the locked doors.

But something shifts in his story. The disciples who relay the news to him don’t make him feel less like a disciple because of his doubt. Instead, when Jesus shows Thomas the evidence of His resurrection, he’s with his friends:

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. … John 20:26 NIV

A lot can change in a week. Thomas went from being isolated in his doubt to getting confirmation of his faith in community.

We don’t know exactly what happened in that week. We don’t know whether the disciples encouraged Thomas not to give up.

But we do know that Jesus showed up when he was with his friends.

When you are in the middle of deep doubt, like Thomas, don’t deal with it alone. Find some friends who will carry your faith for you.

In Mark 2, we see another example of this. A paralyzed man couldn’t get himself to Jesus, so his friends carried him and literally dug a hole in the roof to get him near Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:5 NIV

If you don’t even have the faith to get to Jesus, trusted friends can carry you there. They can hold on to your faith when you feel like you don’t have any left. So it’s okay to doubt. Just don’t doubt alone.

Pray: God, I know You created us for community. Give me the wisdom and boldness to know who to turn to in the middle of my doubt and unbelief. Thank You for giving us friends and relationships that can support us and carry us when we need it the most. In Jesus’ name, amen.