The disciple everyone gets wrong

Here’s something I’ve been sitting with this week.

We call him Doubting Thomas. It’s practically a title now - shorthand for someone who can’t quite get there, who needs more proof than everyone else.

But here’s the thing. Thomas wasn’t the odd one out. He was just the last one to catch up.

When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of the first Easter Sunday, Luke tells us they were startled and frightened - thinking they were seeing a ghost. Jesus had to show them his hands and feet. He even asked for a piece of fish and ate it in front of them, just to prove he was real.

Every single person in that room doubted. Thomas just happened not to be there.

When Thomas heard what had happened, he said - quite reasonably, I think - “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds myself.” That’s not a broken faith. That’s a hurting heart, asking for help.

And here’s what moves me most about the story. Jesus came back a week later, walked through those same locked doors, looked straight at Thomas, and said: “Put your finger here. Look at my hands.” No lecture. No “how could you.” Just: here I am.

Thomas’s response? “My Lord and my God.” One of the most profound declarations of faith in the whole New Testament - and it came straight out of the middle of his doubt.

Frederick Buechner once wrote that doubts are “the ants in the pants of faith - they keep it awake and moving.” I love that. Doubt doesn’t have to be the end of faith. It can be the beginning of something deeper.

There’s a tiny verse in Jude - easy to miss - that says the early church was called to “show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.” Not pressure them. Not fix them. Just make space.

That’s worth sitting with, wherever you are today.

If this is something you want to explore further, I’ve just posted a short devotional video that unpacks all of this - Thomas, the locked room, and one small step you can take today for someone in your life who’s asking hard questions. You can watch it here:

See you tomorrow, Rob

Read this week’s devotionals here - https://open.substack.com/pub/battledrilldevotional/p/when-doubt-feels-like-the-wrong-answer?r=643q6o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true