Even though I pray, sometimes I have doubts.  There I said it!  Let’s face it, none of us want to be labeled as “Doubting Thomas” or a person of unbelief.    I do not walk a life of unbelief, but there have been times that unbelief was yelling in my ears. 

How about you?  Have you ever had to fight the voices you hear? How can one more thing happen to my family? The hits just keep coming.  God, do You see all of this?  God, where are you?  Don’t you even care?  After decades of hearing the stories and lessons of the Bible, are they even true? 

I realize that I am opening a can of worms for some who cannot fathom that God tolerates any unbelief.  As I was reading from John 20, the story of “Doubting Thomas” came up at the end.  I read it several times and pondered it.   Let’s look at that story and a few verses preceding the story. 

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So, the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he said to them, “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.”

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.” 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 20:19, 20, 24-29

As we enter the story in John 20, the resurrected Jesus has shown up at a gathering of the disciples.  Because of fear, those disciples were in a room where the doors were bolted and secured. All of the disciples had been affected by the death of Jesus.  What if they come after us?  What will we do now without Jesus here?  Those disciples were having a crisis of their own. 

Miraculously, Jesus was suddenly in the room with the fearful disciples.  The first thing Jesus said is not, “You are weak believers!” The first thing Jesus said was, “Be at peace.”  Jesus came to calm their internal storm, not make it worse.  He then showed them His scarred hands and side.  It really was Jesus!  What a moment that must have been!  Can you imagine the tears of joy!

Later, they found Thomas and told him the story about the visit from the risen Lord. I can visualize their excitement as they told how Jesus suddenly appeared in the room and showed them His hands and side.  Thomas said, “Really? I’ll believe it when I see it.”  Is Thomas really any different from the others?  They had a rejoicing party after seeing the hands and side of Jesus.

One week later, the disciples were once again gathered in the room, and this time Thomas was present.  Jesus showed up again.  He did not rebuke any of them, including Thomas.  Jesus again said, “Be at peace.”   Jesus then spoke directly to Thomas. He did not rebuke him, shun him, or shame him.  Jesus spoke to the issue with which Thomas was struggling. “Come.  See my hands and my side.  Stop doubting and believe.”   Jesus did not come to give a scathing rebuke to Thomas. He came to cure Thomas’s unbelief.

The same Jesus who had healed bodies and delivered people from demons, came to cure unbelief.  Unbelief will try to visit us when circumstances are overwhelming.  Unbelief will try to raise its head.  Jesus stands ready to meet us in the place of unbelief, not to rebuke us, but to heal our unbelief. 

Jesus did say, “Blessed are those who can believe without seeing.”  I am not saying that Jesus approves of unbelief and doubt. I am saying our Savior knows that there are times that we experience doubt.  Because we are sinners, He died to save us.  Because we are sometimes doubters, He came to cure our unbelief.  “Calm down.  Be at peace.  See, look, touch, believe.”

There is no gain in beating ourselves up when oppressed by doubt. Let’s quickly run to Jesus when we need to be cured of unbelief.    May we confess like the father of the demoniac in Mark 9, “I believe; help my unbelief!”  Those are some of the most honest words ever spoken by a human. Don’t be afraid to say them.  He invites us to see, look, touch, and believe again.