Doubt

We recount the story of doubting Thomas on our Confirmation retreats. As you know, Thomas was the apostle who could not believe Jesus was appearing in His resurrected body until he actually saw Jesus and felt his wounds.

There is a bit of Thomas in each of us. There are times in our lives that we doubt God’s love and involvement in our lives. In those times of doubting it seems easier to let other influences shape our beliefs or actions. Some examples of doubt taking hold in our lives may be friends influencing us to not practice our faith, thoughts that living by faith doesn’t really make a difference anyway, or seeing others that are not living by faith who seem to be doing fine. These and a million other ways are how doubt creeps in and begins to shape our actions and beliefs.

In contrast, God continually calls us into a deeper relationship. He shows that His love is constant through the comfort of parents, our friendships with others and the help of a stranger. We can probably all name a time that for some unexplained reason, someone helped us out. I believe God is in those moments showing He cares through the actions of others.

We all face moments of doubt in our lives. The Bible is full of stories about people who doubted God’s existence and loving presence in their lives. When you feel doubt creeping into your life, rely on the words of Jesus. Jesus told Thomas to “Stop doubting and believe.” I bet our lives would be happier and more exciting if we took the advice of Jesus.

Eden Foord, Retreat Director