Tag Archives: Doubt

Rest Assured

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It’s the first day of spring.

It doesn’t look like it.
It doesn’t feel like it.
But it’s the truth.
And I believe it.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1

Recently I was with a friend who expressed a concern. She was worried about her faith. Did she have enough? What if she didn’t? How would she know? What would happen if she came up short? From her perspective, it didn’t look like she had enough faith. And it didn’t feel like it.

We talked it over and I reminded her that it doesn’t take much. God is happy to work with a tiny amount of faith, even as small as a mustard seed. (Matthew 17:20) She was quiet for a few moments, then said, “Well, then……..I guess I’m ok.” Yes, my dear, you are ok.

We all need a little reassurance from time to time.
We’re in good company.

When God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, Moses was a bundle of doubts and fears. “Who am I?” “What if…?” “Suppose…?” “Why? Why? Why?” He finished with, “Please send someone else.” (Exodus 3-5)

When God called Gideon to lead an army against his enemies, Gideon whined, “But, why…?” “But, how…?” “But…me?” Then he put God through a string of tests, just to be absolutely sure he heard from the Almighty correctly. (Judges 6)

Even John the Baptist had his doubts. John—who introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) John—the one who witnessed a voice from heaven declaring, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17) This same John sent a message to Jesus, “So, are you the one or should we look for someone else?” (Matt. 11:2)

These heroes of the faith needed assurance. They hadn’t gone off the rails or shipwrecked their long-held beliefs. They just needed to be reminded of truth they already knew down deep.

On those days when doubts and fears creep in,
turn to the Word of Truth.
And rest assured.

Today is the first day of spring.
It doesn’t look like it.
It doesn’t feel like it.
But it’s the truth.
And I believe it.

No Doubt About It

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Here’s a Bible verse you don’t see on coffee cups:

“When they saw him,
they worshiped him;
but some doubted.”
Matthew 28:17

The disciples saw Jesus arrested, crucified, dead and buried. No doubt about it.

A few days later they saw him alive, eating fish, poofing through walls, talking and laughing. For days and days (40, to be exact) Jesus “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” (Acts 1:3)

Still, some doubted.

But that didn’t really matter.
Their reluctance to believe,
their hesitation to accept the inconceivable,
their skepticism in light of what they saw with their eyes—
didn’t change the truth.

Jesus didn’t see their uncertainties and say, “Well, I guess this isn’t going to work after all. You all should go back to your fishing boats and I’ll go back to heaven. See ya—it’s been fun.”

Oh no.

Instead, despite their lack of faith, Jesus said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
Your doubts can’t stop My plan for the world.

He said, “Go and make disciples.”
Your doubts can’t thwart My purpose for you.

He said, “I will be with you always.”
Your doubts can’t hinder My Presence.

Do you have doubts?
Me, too.
It’s ok.
The truth still stands.

He is with us always.
No doubt about it.

Put that on a coffee cup.

Countdown to Liftoff – Day 35

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“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'” John 20:28-29

After all his pretentious bluster about needing proof,
it seems Thomas didn’t need to put his finger in the nail holes
or his hand in Jesus’ side after all.

Jesus Himself was enough.

Instead of poking around in Jesus’ scars,
Thomas dropped to his knees in worship.

He didn’t miss out on any more visits after that.
Thomas was there at the ascension
and at the Holy Spirit’s coming at Pentecost.

Tradition tells us that Thomas went on to be a missionary in India
where he established a church,
but was executed for his faith.
It is said he was stabbed in the side with a spear.

He never lived down his “doubting” label, which is unfortunate
since all the other disciples also doubted the women’s reports of having seen the risen Jesus.
There’s no doubt that Thomas was a strong believer
and God used him in mighty ways.

We have something those first disciples didn’t have.
A special blessing is given to those of us
who believe Jesus rose from the grave,
even though we’ve never laid eyes on Him.

For Thomas, seeing was believing.
For us, believing is seeing.

Open the eyes of our heart, Lord.

Countdown to Liftoff – Day 36

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“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.'” John 20:26-27

It was the 8th day after the resurrection, and the disciples were still holed up, hiding out behind locked doors. There must have been a lot of fear to keep 11 men inside a house for a week. (Can you imagine how it smelled in there?) Maybe they actually were in danger — the chief priests had paid off the soldiers to report that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body from the tomb (Matt. 28:13).

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) isn’t just a 21st century phenomenon. Thomas must have had a bad case of it, because he was with the other disciples this time around.

Jesus poofed in again, and He was looking for one in particular. He addressed the very statement Thomas made a week earlier: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Jesus offered proof followed by a command.

Stop it.
Stop doubting.
Start believing.

At some point, we need to quit messing around with looking for loopholes and testing for evidence. So let’s stop it. Let’s stop critiquing God’s Word and digging for error and raising our arrogant eyebrows with our defiant arms crossed. Let’s start putting some faith in something other than our own self-sufficiency.

Instead of doubting our beliefs and believing our doubts,
let’s start doubting our doubts and believing our beliefs.

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Countdown to Liftoff – Day 37

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“Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. When the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, he declared, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.'” John 20:24

It’s too bad Thomas missed out on Jesus’ appearance to the other disciples.
Where was he, anyway?
Was he emotionally spent?
Did he need some alone time?
Was he out picking up lunch for the other ten?
Checking up on his twin brother?

Imagine the disappointment, to learn the resurrected, glorified Jesus had stopped in and you missed it. We don’t know what took Thomas away, but we do know he came back. He was a hard nut to crack, though — eye-witness reports from ten of his closest friends wasn’t enough for him. “Doubting” Thomas was really more like “Defiant Skeptical Unbelieving” Thomas.

Because he stayed away
from his community of believers and fellowship with them,
he missed an encounter with the Risen Lord,
which fed his doubt
and made him demanding,
setting his own conditions
for belief.
Sound familiar?