Caught in the Doubt: What Jesus Does With Our Questions
In Week 6 of While I Breathe, I Hope, we looked at the most famous doubt story in Scripture — Thomas refusing to believe Jesus had risen until he could touch the wounds himself (John 20:24-29). The message, Caught in the Doubt, asks a question most of us have lived but rarely talk about out loud: what do we do when faith doesn’t feel certain anymore?
The Scripture Behind Caught in the Doubt
Thomas wasn’t present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, and he refused to believe secondhand: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands… I will not believe” (John 20:25). A week later, Jesus appears again, specifically for Thomas, and says: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). Caught in the Doubt centers on what Jesus does next — not rebuke, not rejection, but an invitation to bring the doubt closer, not hide it further away.
Doubt Is a Cycle
Using an extended rock-climbing illustration, Caught in the Doubt shows how doubt works like fear on a climbing wall: the more you think about falling, the more your hands start sweating, the more likely you are to actually fall. Doubt feeds itself the same way — the more we doubt God’s goodness, the more we doubt His presence; the more we doubt His presence, the less likely we are to pray; the less we pray, the more we doubt whether anyone’s listening at all. Left alone in silence and shame, doubt multiplies. That’s exactly what the enemy wants — not that we doubt, but that we hide it.
Doubt Is Intellectual and Emotional
Caught in the Doubt distinguishes two forms doubt usually takes, which often feed each other. Intellectual doubt is driven by hard questions — about the trustworthiness of Scripture, the problem of evil and suffering, or unanswered prayer. Emotional doubt sounds more like, “God answered their prayer, but not mine — maybe I’m the problem.” The message is honest about how depression and anxiety can intensify doubt without being the same thing as doubt — and it’s equally honest that faith, therapy, and medication can all work together, the same way “I hope you pray about your headache and take Tylenol.”
Jesus Moves Toward Us in Doubt
Here’s the turn at the heart of Caught in the Doubt: Jesus didn’t shame Thomas or write him off. He said, in effect, bring it here. Here’s what you need. Touch it. The whole Bible, from cover to cover, can be summarized as God moving closer to us in our doubt, our sin, and our shame — not further away. The goal of this message isn’t to argue you out of every question. It’s to convince you that you don’t have to hide your doubt from Jesus — you can bring it to Him, the way a rock climber learns to trust the belayer who’s already caught them before.
Next Steps After Friends, Not Fans
- Bring Your Doubt Into the Light. Talk to a pastor, a trusted friend, or your Life Group about what you’re actually wrestling with — don’t carry it alone.
- Join a Life Group. Life group season has already started, and our team will get you into one — no exceptions, no waiting list too long.Â
- Read “Becoming,” Chapter 6. Our church book Becoming has a chapter dedicated to Doubt. Pick up a copy at the Purchase Project (free if you can’t afford one) or listen on Spotify.
Did you like the message, Caught in the Doubt? If so, check out more of our Sunday teachings here.