Overcoming DoubtНамуна

Jesus Is Compassionate When We Doubt

Have you ever been sitting in a stationary car and then had the sensation of moving backward as another vehicle drove past you? This strange experience is called “vection,” or the illusion of self-motion, and it is why you press a little harder on your brakes when that moment of disorientation comes over you. Doubt is disorienting similarly. You may feel like you’re regressing or moving away from your faith when your focus shifts to your doubts. Having doubts doesn’t mean you’re walking away from Jesus, and it doesn’t mean that Jesus is walking away from you! Jesus draws near to us in our doubts. He has deep compassion for those who do doubt.

Thomas, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, is often called “Doubting Thomas.” This is because of a moment of doubt he had after Jesus rose from the dead. The Bible tells us that Thomas refused to believe the disciples who told him Jesus was alive. When these disciples announced that the tomb was empty and that Jesus had risen, Thomas told them he wouldn’t believe it until he touched Jesus’s wounds. We may judge Thomas when we read this story in our Bibles, but Thomas responded the same way many of us would if we heard about a supernatural phenomenon today.

As the story of Thomas’s moment of doubt continues, we see Jesus’s grace-filled response. Rather than shaming Thomas or telling him just to have more faith, Jesus invited him to explore the evidence. He allowed Thomas to touch the scars on His hands and side so that Thomas could see, feel, and believe.

Jesus was compassionate towards Thomas. He met him in his doubt. Jesus extends that same compassion to us when we doubt. He invites us to investigate our doubts, too. We don’t have to ignore or run away from them. When we press in and explore the evidence for the truth of Jesus, we can have our own “Thomas experience” and move toward deeper faith and belief in Christ. The evidence is there, and Jesus' invitation is there, too. Don’t let doubt draw you away. Lean in and see the truth for yourself.

Thought of the Day: What a comfort it is to know that Jesus draws near to His doubting disciples! I don’t have to retreat in my doubt. Jesus invites me to lean in with my doubts and explore my uncertainties in the security of His unending compassion and grace.