Why Christians Doubt

“When therefore it was evening…Jesus came and stood in their midst. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord… But Thomas, one of the twelve…was not with them when Jesus came” (John 20:19, 20, 24). We have no idea why Thomas was not there, but he acquired the name “Doubting Thomas” because he was absent. “The other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I shall see in his hands the imprints of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’” (v. 25). In modern parlance, he might have said, “I guess you’d have to been there.” Do you suppose you would have believed something as strange as a man, having been mutilated, killed and dead for three day, suddenly coming alive again?

Thomas’s doubt was only temporary. “And after eight days again His disciples were inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into my side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” “Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believe” (vs. 26-29).

Thinking of future generations, John wrote, “These (facts) have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (v. 30).

How could one say that he believe the above facts if he does not believe that Jesus will lift him out of his doubts to walk with Him on higher ground? Why would one continue making circles around the desert when he can walk right out any time he have the faith to do so? So why do Christians doubt. Here are some of the reasons.

1. Some doubt because they have never been taught to trust Jesus. They were taught the story of Jesus in Sunday School but were not taught to trust Him in life. They remember singing, “Jesus loves the little children of the world,” but have never comprehended the fact that Jesus loves them. They believe that He had power to do all those miraculous things in the Bible but they doubt that He would favor them with His power.

2. Some doubt because they have not accepted the fact that assurance is a matter of faith. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

3. Some doubt because they have been conditioned to doubt. While some churches make boastful claims about the power of their faith, others deny that such power exists today... Children grow up to be like their seniors, “holding to the form of godliness but have denied its power” (II Tim. 3:5. When they grow into adulthood, they are vocal in their denial and teach the next generation to doubt. I have never believed that everyone or just anyone has been given the faith and power of the prophets and apostles, but I sincerely believe that what Jesus promised us He will fulfill—when our faith overcomes our conditioned doubt. I was brought up on obedience, not on faith; consequently, I made circles around the desert of doubt for many years, thinking that one day I would be given assurance. But when I had had enough, I requested my freedom and was graciously delivered. Since then I have enjoyed a life of faith.

4. Some doubt because of their indifference toward Jesus. It is simply easier to doubt than to believe. Faith comes by the Word of God and they are not in the Word.

5. Some doubt because they have never exercise their faith by assuring others. If you don’t trust Christ to deliver you now, the likelihood is that you never will. If you don’t share your assurance with others, you will likely lose it. But if you believe He has delivered you, you will tell others. David used another analogy for deliverance, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He … brought me up out of the… miry clay. And He set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm” (Psa. 40:1. 2).

"He lifted me out of the deep miry clay; He settled my feet on the straight narrow way; He lifted me up to a heavenly place, And flooded my soul each day with his grace" – Lawrence E. Brooks