26 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!” 27 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.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John20:26-28 NIV
Embrace doubt?
Hmm. That doesn’t seem right.
We clearly read above in John 20:26-28 that Jesus instructed Thomas to stop doubting. And we should clearly trust Jesus and His instructions. So, what do I mean by embracing doubt?
I simply mean that we should embrace our humanity and realize that we all doubt. We have doubts about many things, concepts, people, and situations. Yet, doubt can be a useful tool. Recognizing my doubt can cause me to seek out solutions rather than get stuck in unbelief.
The key is embracing the fact that even as a follower of Christ, full of His Spirit and faith, I sometimes doubt.
Looking through pictures this morning I was reminded of my doubt regarding the reliability of our vehicles. My dear man and I were preparing for a big cross-country move. We had already decided to hire a moving company to haul our belongings from Georgia to California, which left us responsible for hauling ourselves and 3 dogs.
As we pondered our options, we had serious doubts about all of our immediately accessible traveling options. We didn’t like the cost of flying three dogs cross country, and we did not feel optimistic about the idea of driving our very old vehicles 2000+ miles. All of our options were creating a huge amount of doubt, and yet we allowed our doubt to cause us to seek out other solutions.
We knew we were going. We felt reasonably secure about receiving all of our worldly possessions on the other side of our move. We knew we needed a relatively safe, reliable, and comfortable mode of transportation. That’s what we knew. We still had plenty of doubts.
Our doubts led us to solutions. Our doubts led us to pray. Our doubts led us to look up and fix our eyes on Jesus. Our doubts led us to open our hands and let go of the obstacles. Ultimately, our doubts led us to embrace creative ideas, in much the same way Jesus encouraged Thomas to embrace the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.
Jesus called us to a new place. We asked His help and for wisdom in finding a mode of transportation. Eventually, through weeks of test drives and negotiations, we not only found a new car suitable to drive our family of five all the way west to our new home, but we made a friend. We met a young man for whom we prayed, invited to church, and for whom we were able to provide a sales commission. Eventually, we were able to meet up with him at church and meet his mom, sisters, aunt, and girlfriend.
This scenario, along with a number of others in my life, has taught me to embrace my humanity. I can embrace that I sometimes have doubts. Many times my doubts are for good reasons. And most frequently, my doubts cause me to look up and ask Jesus for help.
Eyes on Jesus and Shine,
~Lisa
Today I have the privilege of participating in the weekly Five Minute Friday writing challenge sponsored by Kate Motaung Thank you for stopping by.
Today’s word prompt is DOUBT. If you’ve been wanting to try writing, here’s your opportunity. Don’t doubt your creativity. Just give yourself a chance!
If you don’t have a blog, write anyway. You can post on Facebook or Instagram. Or you can reach out to me and possibly become a guest writer on my blog. I’m known to share my space with emerging writers.
