Expressions Of Doubt

“They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” John 20:25 [emphasis added].

A lot of us encounter Thomas in Scripture and we think how could he have doubted and for this reason we do not really respect him. But the truth is that Thomas is to be respected and I am going to show you. The issue of doubt is common to man. If you check scripture it is filled with great people that God has used. People that have done great things for God but who have to wrestle with doubt. People that asked questions of doubt.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, when an arc angel, Gabriel, visited her and said to her, you are going to conceive and have a baby. “Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” Luke1:34. That is a question of doubt. How can this happen? Mary is trying to figure it out in her brain. Zechariah, was part of the priesthood, great man of God and the same angel Gabriel appeared to him in the temple and said to him you are going to have a son and his name is going to be John. “Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Luke 1:18.

Some of these great men and women God used even went beyond doubtful questions to demonstrate acts of doubt. God came down, He was on His way to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah [Gen.18] and He stopped by Abraham’s place. “Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent… So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” Gen.18:10 &12. Women are experts at this, they can be in the kitchen and hear what you are saying in the living room. Do not even try to hide because they can hear everything. Just accept it. And after she heard what the angel said she said how can this be? And God said, Sarah why did you laugh? Do you know what Sarah said? She said I did not laugh. God is just magnanimous. If it were some of us, so anointed and filled with revelation, we probably will threaten to call down fire if the person does not own up. But God just ignored her and said according to the time of life, and for somebody reading this today according to the time of life you will carry a son and you can laugh if you want to. And some made statements of doubts like Thomas. “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” But note that God responded differently to each expression of doubt.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, teach me to believe and not to doubt, teach me to believe every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Living God, in Jesus Name.