Are we all a ‘doubting Thomas’?

In the Book of John 20 these verses detail the resurrection of Jesus and beginning in John 20:24 it shares the story of Thomas (called Didymus) a disciple who wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to the other disciples after His resurrection. When the others told him that they had seen Jesus and that He was in fact alive, Thomas declared that only would he believe Jesus had risen from the dead if he was able to personally see Jesus himself and see the holes from the nails and the opening in Jesus’ side where he had been speared.

Aren’t so many of us like Thomas demanding proof before believing? Later Jesus did appear to the disciples when Thomas was present and Jesus invited Thomas to put his finger in the holes of Jesus’ hands and to put his hand into the hole in Jesus’ side. Thomas saw and then instantly believed and was convicted for not believing in the first place. I can imagine how much of an emotional scene that had to be when He saw Jesus and believed and cried out “My Lord, My God”. 

Jesus knew the weaknesses of Thomas just as He knows all of ours. When Thomas requested proof before believing we must realize that Jesus didn’t have to accommodate Thomas. Think about this for a moment. All the disciples had seen many miracles performed by Jesus, they had followed His ministry on earth and had heard the prophecies about His coming death and His resurrection. They had already seen so much proof and so the fact that Thomas needed any further proof at that moment is beyond most of our own comprehension. However, not unlike ourselves when we face a loss of a loved one, our despair, heartache and sorrow cloud our own faith. Jesus Christ knows this about us and he does have sympathy and understanding. See Hebrews 4:15.

In the end Thomas, did proclaim his faith in Jesus’ resurrection even if that faith was based on his sight, his viewing of Jesus standing before him. Jesus did commend Thomas for his faith. There is so much to learn from this story and so many clear promises to us came from this. John 20:29 tells us that we that have not seen but do believe will be blessed. He promised to always be with us and that He promised to send the help of the Holy Spirit that would reside within us if we believe and accept Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord. Peter also in 1 Peter 1:8-9 repeats this promise from Jesus to us. Even though we as Christians do have the Holy Spirit in us we still have moments of doubt, we are human flesh and will fail at times. However, our standing as a child of God once cleansed by the blood of Christ will not be changed and we cannot be plucked from God when we doubt. God will instead perfect our faith and grow us as Christians. 

So how can we not be a doubting Thomas? First, we must pray continuously. Have you ever considered that maybe we can doubt so that we are dependent on God to get us through life? We are in constant need of that relationship with Him and we need to run to Him in prayer many times daily. To grow as a Christian, it will include times of doubting and there will also be times of great faith. We go to God in prayer because we believe in Him. When we doubt, we run to Him in prayer and cry out “Lord I do believe, help me overcome my doubt” Mark 9:17-27.

Staying fed from God’s word is described in Ephesians 6:10-19 as putting on the full armor of God. We battle as Christians every day. This is also why we hold close to us the teachings in God’s word. That is our evidence, that is our guidance, that is the details which give us the knowledge of the True Word of God. It prepares us for the battles we face in this world and the more we study God’s word, the more we spend time in prayer with God, the less we will doubt. When we face a time of trouble we will begin to put up our shield of faith rather than doubting and satan’s darts of doubts will be stopped by our shield of faith and not be able to pierce us. We have something that Thomas did not have in those days, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us. See it wasn’t until Jesus ascended into Heaven after His resurrection that He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to Christians who believe. Through God’s Holy Spirit we can overcome any doubts we may have and battle any wars we may face. The key is to delve into God’s Word and be steadfast in prayer. Our faith will grow and our doubting will lessen.