Don’t Hide Your Doubt

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:5-7) 
 
One of the most maligned characters in Christian history is the disciple identified in today’s key passage as Thomas. He is often referred to in Christian and church circles as “doubting Thomas.”  
 
While Thomas was very vocal with his uncertainty and questioning about the plans of Jesus Christ, there is something to be said for Thomas’s lack of shame for voicing these doubts. He had the courage and the boldness to ask the tough questions, to acknowledge that things didn’t look great from his perspective, and that he was struggling to believe what Jesus was telling him.  
 
He is a great example of what it looks like to not be afraid of sharing your fears, worries, and questions in a world where we as Christians are under the impression that we must have it all together. We should always feel the freedom to be honest with God. He already knows what we’re thinking. He knows what we’re feeling. And He knows our doubts, questions, and hesitations. So why not go ahead and verbalize them so that we can work through them, rather than suppressing them and not addressing them. 
 
Because we’re imperfect human beings, we can’t expect to be able to perfectly trust God one hundred percent of the time. There are inevitably going to be times when we struggle with doubt. So instead of trying to be perfect, let’s try to be honest. Let’s confront our doubts head on; and in doing so, we will develop greater trust in the Lord, just like Thomas did.