What if We Never Doubted?

What If We Never Doubted

Pastor Calvin Cook

4~29~2025

Scripture ~ John 20:24-25 &29  “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he (Thomas) said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.””

29  “Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Doubt has a way of creeping into the quiet spaces of our hearts—especially when life doesn’t go the way we expected. It causes us not to trust what we have always believed. It happens in many ways in our life. It destroys our Hope, steals our joy, and causes us to question everything including the value of what it means to be in relation with God. Like Thomas, we find ourselves standing in the wake of disappointment, surrounded by voices declaring, “We have seen the Lord!”—yet, we hesitate. Partly because our loving God chooses to take us from soul despair, and we have become way to comfortable where we are.

Thomas wasn’t absent only in body when Jesus first appeared to the disciples—he was distant in heart too, likely weighed down by sorrow, fear, and unmet expectations. His honesty, though often criticized, is deeply relatable. “Unless I see… I will never believe.” These aren’t just the words of a skeptic—they’re the words we to speak. When our expectations of what we want do not align with God’s plans, when our dreams have become nightmares. We are wounded, hurting followers who once hoped and now struggles to hope again.

Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas for his doubt. He met him in it.

But then came the challenge—and the blessing: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” What if we lived like that? What if we never doubted God’s presence, even when we couldn’t feel it? What if we trusted His promises when the evidence seemed invisible? What if we walked in faith, not needing to touch the wounds but believing in the presence of God all the time, everywhere?

The truth is, we all have our “Thomas moments.” And yet, Jesus doesn’t shame us—He invites us forward. Not to remain in doubt, but to grow in faith. He calls us blessed, not when we see, but when we trust.

So pick yourself up, clean yourself off, leave the blood-stained garments behind you, and move into the place that has been prepared for you in God’s Kingdom right here on earth. Know it’s not easy, but one step closer is much better than one step away.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for meeting me in my doubts. Help me to walk by faith, not by sight. Strengthen my heart to believe—even when I do not see—knowing that You are always with me. Amen