Brave Enough to Believe: Trade Your Doubts for Brave FaithSampel

Day 9—Presence

In John 20, we find the last and perhaps most poignant encounter between Thomas and Jesus. As the passage unfolds, we witness the beautiful conclusion to the story of a man broken by circumstances. Something in Thomas died alongside Jesus at the crucifixion. Thomas withdrew from the others and isolated himself from those who witnessed the greatest miracle: Jesus resurrected from the dead.

When we face a crisis of faith, the worst thing we can do is isolate ourselves from the community of other believers. When we do, like Thomas, we may miss the peace, the reassurance, and the empowerment we long for.

The determined apostles pursued Thomas to join them again. When they told him they had seen Jesus alive, he declared, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas the pragmatist wanted proof. Afraid to hope and depleted from disappointment, he sought an informed faith. He could not be content with hearsay or someone else’s experience. Yet, beneath what might seem like a benign request lay a darker truth: Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead. He attached an “unless” to his willingness to believe.

God welcomes our questions. His Word can stand up to the strongest of scrutiny. But unresolved doubt can lead to the deconstruction of our faith. Some of us, without even noticing, allowed our faith to erode through one word: unless. We may not have ever uttered the phrase aloud, but our belief systems have become so shattered that we don’t know how to restart. We put God’s character on trial when something didn’t turn out like we thought it should. Or we withhold full confidence in God until something turns out like we think it should.

Jesus already knows our unless places. He meets us there, but He doesn’t want us to stay there. We can invite the Holy Spirit to help come to grips with our doubts and grab hold of faith. Faith replaces the word unless with regardless. “Regardless of the questions that remain in this life, I will believe.”

Question:

Is there an unless in your life that needs to be replaced with regardless?

Personal Prayer:

Help me to trust You with my unanswered questions in life. Thank you for loving me even in my darkest moments.