Brave Enough to Believe: Trade Your Doubts for Brave Faith

Scripture: Matthew 4:23-25

An Ache for More

We all crave the courage to stand firm in a culture rocked by upheaval. What do we do when doubt entices us to wonder if God is good when life is not? Perhaps you know Thomas for his bouts with doubt, but Jesus knew Thomas for the courage to question and the bravery to believe. Brave resilience isn’t relegated only to a select group of spiritual giants or biblical heroes—it’s offered to us as well.

We first meet Thomas as one of the crowd in the early stages of Jesus’s ministry. In the “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus shared The Beatitudes, blessings for our lives. As Thomas heard Jesus teach, he began to gain the confidence to trust Jesus for more. Jesus called Thomas out of the crowd to answer his deep soul ache and use him greatly in the kingdom. It all started because Thomas chose to show up. Thomas became one of Jesus’s disciples, ready to be taught by Him.

Your ache for more can either drive you to Jesus or away from Him. When you allow it to lead you closer to Jesus, faith can overcome your fear. Or perhaps you’re wondering where God is in your circumstances or if He cares about what concerns you. Your life matters to God. Your hard questions are opportunities for Him to reveal Himself to you.

In our ache for meaning and purpose in life, we can exhaust ourselves trying to find freedom. It’s not enough to simply be a seeker of truth; we must go to the Source of Truth just as Thomas did—Jesus. Although life may be uncertain, His character is unchanging. We can trade our doubts for confidence in His authority.

It is possible to feel steady in the face of uncertainty and recover your peace when you feel overwhelmed. Disappointment can be the catalyst—not for spiritual apostasy—but for spiritual awakening. God transforms the ache of uncertainty into the ache for more of Him.

Question:

What is one way you want to grow in brave faith as you study the life of Thomas?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, I ask You to transform my ache of uncertainty into an ache for more of You. Fill me with Your presence, Your power, and Your promises, for every situation.

Scripture: Luke 6:12-16

Called Out of the Crowd

Jesus called Thomas out of the crowd to become an apostle, not amid fanfare and spectacle, but after a night spent alone in prayer. Thomas bravely left the comfort and security of all he knew to embrace the mission of Jesus.

Prayer preceded the ministry of Jesus and His apostles. Prayer is the life-giving force in our relationship with God. It is a primary way we become untangled from uncertainty and hear from God. We strengthen our prayer life as we train our ear to listen for God’s voice. We can implement the same valuable keys Jesus taught Thomas as we learn to listen well:

• find a solitary place to pray
• free yourself from distraction
• frame your situation with the truth of God’s Word

Outcomes originate in prayer. As we devote ourselves to prayer and His Word, Jesus leads us from a starting place to a sending place. When we start in the crowd, we may find safety in numbers. The crowd is comfortable and full of distractions. The crowd may allow us to stay anonymous and unchallenged. However, as we move closer to Jesus through prayer and relationship, we grow in our identity in Him and our influence with others. We impact our culture for Jesus when we’re close enough to Him to be taught and changed by Him.

Although we are not one of the twelve apostles, we have much in common with Thomas. When Thomas accepted the call to be an apostle, we can be sure he navigated a myriad of emotions. As we move from a starting place to a sending place, we need to leave behind anything that keeps us marginalized or ineffective. We don’t have to have all the answers when God calls us into a new season. It will require God-sized risks to answer God-sized assignments. He will empower you for what He asks of you. Expect the unexpected as you put your faith in God.

Question:

What is one way you sense God leading you from a starting place to a sending place?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, help me to leave the comfort of the crowd and move closer to You through prayer and relationship. Even when I don’t have all the answers, I trust You to lead my life.

Scriptures: Luke 9:1-2, Luke 9:6

Awakened to Purpose

Thomas began an up-close and personal observation of the three-year ministry of Jesus. As they began to understand His purpose, they became awakened to their own. Before the apostles impacted the world with the gospel, however, they first spent time with Jesus to understand the power and authority behind His words and actions. Thomas’s relationship with Jesus led to his first temporary mission. These early assignments prepared Thomas for what would later become his life’s purpose.

On one occasion, Thomas and the apostles encountered a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee. Meanwhile, Jesus slept in the boat. Terrified, they cried out to Jesus and wondered aloud if He cared if they drowned. They witnessed His authority as Jesus calmed both their anxious hearts and the storm with a single command: “Peace be still.” He challenged them to continue to place their faith in Him. We can’t allow the storms of life to disintegrate our faith. Instead, we can choose to surrender to Jesus and trust His authority in our lives.

When we encounter disappointment, we may be tempted to pull away from Jesus when what we need most is time with Him. Jesus is our source of security, peace, and stability in every circumstance. He is with us when we receive the uninvited diagnosis. He is with us when we wonder how we will pay our mortgage. He is with us when we long for the return of a prodigal child. When we come to Him, He doesn’t rebuke us; He rebukes the storm.

Our proximity to Jesus determines our purpose. Before Jesus sends us out, He calls us to Himself. As we choose to remain in close relationship with Jesus, He prepares us and empowers us with authority to fulfill our unique God-given assignments in this generation. Without His authority in our lives, we will become weary trying to operate in human effort. When we feel weak, He is strong. He sustains us through every storm and strengthens us for kingdom purpose.

Question:

In what way do you need to more fully surrender and trust God’s authority in your life?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, thank You that I can always come to You. Help me to stay close to You so I can see and fulfill Your purposes for my life.

Scriptures: John 11, Philippians 4:6-8

A Set-Up

Life often feels like one big lesson in trust. The circumstances surrounding our choices may change, but the core question remains: Do I truly trust God? Sometimes, He asks us to trust Him and move forward through uncharted territory and unexpected shifts. Other times, He asks us to be still and wait. We can trust Him whether His answer at the time is yes, no, or not yet.

In John chapter 11, we find the second encounter between Thomas and Jesus. We will discover a divine setup for God’s glory and Thomas’s growth. Jesus received an urgent request to return to Judea, an area filled with tension surrounding His ministry. Their friend, Lazarus, was gravely ill. When it made sense for Jesus to go, He stayed. Then, when it was too late for Lazarus, Jesus expressed His desire to go.

Because the apostles didn’t know or understand the purpose behind His decision, nearly all became the voice of opposition. We, too, can struggle to truly understand Jesus and His ways. Our limited knowledge threatens to obscure our ability to believe that God wants the best for us.

We may doubt God’s love when we think He’s late. We may begin to question His character when it seems He didn’t show up in the way we thought He should. We may become disheartened when a delay causes the death of a dream or our hope. Or we can be brave enough to believe that while we wait, God works. Our questions about God’s timing are opportunities for God’s glory. He wants us to wait—not on an outcome—but on Him. When we seek God’s glory above all else, we leverage adversity for our spiritual growth.

Anytime God makes His direction clear to us, we are faced with the choice to be brave enough to believe and go with Him no matter what. When we obey, even when we don’t understand, the outcome is supernatural.

Question:

Do you tend to lag behind or rush ahead of God’s timing? How do today’s verses from Philippians help you experience the peace that while you are waiting, God is working?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, help me to trust Your timing, even when I don’t understand. More than anything, I want to see Your glory through my life and decisions.

Scripture: James 1:5

A Step-Up

Thomas leveraged an unexpected setup to take an unanticipated step-up. He bravely spoke up to align with the purposes of Jesus—to return to Judea. In the face of challenging circumstances, Thomas’s uncommon courage silenced and steered the others. His actions were framed by desire, decision, and determination.

Desires are formed through our will and triggered by our emotions. It is our responsibility to assess our desires to determine whether they are informed by the will of God and congruent with the Word of God. When we love and honor the Lord more than anything, we submit our desires to His. Once we know our thoughts are consistent with His thoughts, we gain the confidence to move from desire to decision.

Gripped by the realization that he could suddenly be without Jesus, he became desperate to make a decision: “Do I stay or do I go?” He weighed the options, assessed the risk, and decided the reward would be worth the cost. His answer would shape his destiny: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” Thomas chose to follow Jesus out of obedience, not from a place of full understanding of the future. We cannot allow fear or lack of devotion to keep us from speaking up when needed. Some situations call for silence while others call for our voice. Courageous choices must be bathed in wisdom.

Once we’ve made a decision, determination is the grit we need to follow through. Thomas had faith to believe Jesus in that moment even though he didn’t fully grasp the mission. He would soon experience more than he could imagine: he watched Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.

If Thomas hadn’t spoken up to go with Jesus to Judea, Jesus would have gone without him. But because Thomas was brave enough to believe, the other apostles also witnessed this miracle for themselves. All along, Jesus had told them this sickness would not end in death. He proved He is the God of the impossible. He knew the end from the beginning for Lazarus, and He knows it for us.

Question:

What is one way God may be asking you to step up in the face of challenging circumstances?

Personal Prayer:

God, give me the courage to speak up when my voice is needed. I surrender my desires to You.

Scripture: John 14:1-6

The Place

Thomas and the apostles had learned the value of presence and proximity. They continued to stay close to Jesus in the final days of His life on earth. During His last meal with them, Jesus poured out His heart and told them to love one another the way He loved them. He told them He would soon be leaving, assuring them that they knew the way to the place He was going. Clouded by confusion and uncertainty, they were unable to accurately process all He shared.

None of them knew the way, yet only Thomas became brave enough to speak up. He asked two crucial questions we still need the answers to today. John 14:5 shares, “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.’” Because Thomas pressed Jesus for more information, they all received greater revelation.

Heaven is a personalized, customized place for every single person who believes in Jesus’s death and resurrection and who puts their faith in Him. There is no fear, no sickness, no pain, and no tears. It is a place of love, joy, and peace, filled with the presence of God and His people. We were created for perfection, but we won’t have it this side of eternity. Heaven is the full restoration of all that became ruined by the fall.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we don’t need to fear death and the unknown. Jesus wanted His last conversation with His apostles to point them toward Heaven. The answer Jesus gave to Thomas is the critical answer He gives to us: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). That is the ultimate invitation to come closer no matter what tries to drive us away.

Question:

Is there any wonder that Jesus wanted His last conversation with His apostles to point them to heaven? How strong is your desire to go to heaven?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, thank You that one day, all that is broken will be restored. Thank You that I don’t have to fear death or the unknown.

Scripture: Revelation 22

The Way

It is not enough just to know that Heaven exists, or even to know where it is. We must know the way to get there. Thomas’s second question in John 14:5, much more than intellectual pursuit, signified a desperate plea by a devoted follower: “How can we know the way?” His simple question provided all the invitation Jesus needed. Jesus didn’t give a list of things to do to enter heaven: love your spouse, give ten percent of your income, be kind. Although these reflect a life committed to faith, they are not a punch ticket into heaven. Jesus simply says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

God was unwilling to leave us in a helpless, hopeless condition. Through Jesus, everything that is now broken will one day be made whole. We have the certain promise of heaven in this uncertain place called earth. In a world that is deeply fractured by sin and heartache, we have the hope of eternal life.

With no other way to provide salvation for us, Jesus became the Way. He is the Way when we feel crushed by the injustice of a situation. He is the Way when we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. He is the Way when we feel bruised by doubt and battered by disappointment. He is the Way when we don’t have the strength to try again. He is the Way to life.

We don’t have to traverse the agonizing curves of life alone. When we are brave enough to believe in Jesus Christ, we aren’t handed a paper map or even the most sophisticated navigational system to get through life. We are given the love of our Heavenly Father, the infallible Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the promise that Heaven will one day be our home.

Question:

How does the promise of Heaven reassure your heart that death is not the end but the beginning of eternity with Jesus?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, thank You that You became the Way for me to live an abundant life on earth, and spend eternity with You in Heaven. Help me to fix my eyes on my eternal Hope.

Scriptures: Matthew 27, John 3:16

Absence

Over the next twenty-four hours, Jesus would be betrayed, put on trial, crucified, and buried . . . with Thomas conspicuously absent. He can’t give us an eyewitness account of these events that changed history, but he can give us a front-row seat to grace. We, too, can retreat to hiding places when fear crowds out faith. Jesus knows just where to find us and invites us to come closer no matter what tries to drive us away.

Although Jesus prepared His apostles for this moment and fulfilled over 300 prophecies through His earthly ministry, they are absent from His final moments. We think to ourselves, surely, this can’t be right. This must be a mistake. The Gospel doesn’t make any mistakes, but it does make us uncomfortable. And it invites us in. Through the encounters present in the final hours of Jesus’s earthly life, we see the heart of our Heavenly Father. Simon, a stranger, carried his cross. A common criminal, who had nothing to offer Jesus, received forgiveness moments before his death. A Roman soldier, an enemy of Jesus, praised God and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God. Two Jewish leaders, covert believers, were entrusted to bury the Savior of the world. Can you see it? In the apostles’ absence, God wrote all of humanity into this story.

Perhaps, like Simon, Jesus has been a stranger to you. Or, perhaps, like the thief on the cross, you feel that you’ve wasted time and have nothing to offer Jesus. You may see your reflection in the Roman soldier as you look at your choices and lament what you have done. Perhaps fear has shrouded your belief in Jesus Christ, and you’ve kept Him a secret because of what others might say. Jesus is inviting you closer.

John 3:16 tells us that Jesus doesn’t just invite His closest friends to know Him, He invites the whosoever—the wanderer, the wondering, and the wayward. He invites us all.

Question:

How does this help us to live as loved, to demonstrate His love to others, and lead them to become a part of God’s story?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, thank You that You wrote me into Your story. Help me resist the temptation to hide when I’m afraid and instead, come closer to You.

Scripture: John 20:24-25

Presence

In John 20, we find the last and perhaps most poignant encounter between Thomas and Jesus. As the passage unfolds, we witness the beautiful conclusion to the story of a man broken by circumstances. Something in Thomas died alongside Jesus at the crucifixion. Thomas withdrew from the others and isolated himself from those who witnessed the greatest miracle: Jesus resurrected from the dead.

When we face a crisis of faith, the worst thing we can do is isolate ourselves from the community of other believers. When we do, like Thomas, we may miss the peace, the reassurance, and the empowerment we long for.

The determined apostles pursued Thomas to join them again. When they told him they had seen Jesus alive, he declared, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands…I will not believe” (John 20:25). Thomas the pragmatist wanted proof. Afraid to hope and depleted from disappointment, he sought an informed faith. He could not be content with hearsay or someone else’s experience. Yet, beneath what might seem like a benign request lay a darker truth: Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen from the dead. He attached an “unless” to his willingness to believe.

God welcomes our questions. His Word can stand up to the strongest of scrutiny. But unresolved doubt can lead to the deconstruction of our faith. Some of us, without even noticing, allowed our faith to erode through one word: unless. We may not have ever uttered the phrase aloud, but our belief systems have become so shattered that we don’t know how to restart. We put God’s character on trial when something didn’t turn out like we thought it should. Or we withhold full confidence in God until something turns out like we think it should.

Jesus already knows our unless places. He meets us there, but He doesn’t want us to stay there. We can invite the Holy Spirit to help come to grips with our doubts and grab hold of faith. Faith replaces the word unless with regardless. “Regardless of the questions that remain in this life, I will believe.”

Question:

Is there an unless in your life that needs to be replaced with regardless?

Personal Prayer:

Help me to trust You with my unanswered questions in life. Thank you for loving me even in my darkest moments.

Scripture: John 20:26-30

Future Unlimited

John 20:26 records the second time Jesus appeared to the apostles, and this time, back in community, Thomas was there. Jesus appeared behind locked doors, physically and spiritually, to unlock the potential in Thomas.

Jesus didn’t wait for an apology or remind Thomas of his failure. Without hesitation, Jesus gave an invitation: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side” (John 20:27). Jesus knew exactly what Thomas needed. A crisis of faith had revealed his deepest doubt, but Jesus answered his deepest longing.

First came Jesus’s invitation, asking Thomas to come closer. Then came the imperative: “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). Before Jesus ever issued a command, He initiated restoration. Jesus didn’t withdraw from Thomas and doesn’t withdraw from us. We are not the sum total of our worst moments. We are known, wanted, and loved by the God who created us. No matter what we have done or what has been done to us, when we encounter Jesus, we are invited in.

With full surrender, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). The original Greek literally reads, “The Lord of me and the God of me.” Calling Him “Lord,” Thomas used the word Kurios, asking Jesus to be the owner of his life. He traded his doubts for a life of brave faith. God used Thomas in astounding ways. The man who once hesitated to believe now invited others to experience the miraculous and know Christ for themselves. He took the Gospel to India, further than any other apostle, where he was martyred for his faith.

We, too, are invited to get close enough to Jesus so that faith becomes the driving force of our lives. Because more than anything, we need an encounter with Jesus: that’s the secret. As a conduit of grace to a broken world, you will bring light into dark places and hope into hurting hearts. Let Jesus be the owner of your life. Go where He calls you to go and be brave enough to believe.

Question:

How has the life of Thomas impacted you and drawn you closer to Jesus?

Personal Prayer:

God, thank You that I am known, loved, and wanted by You. Take my life and use me for Your glory.