Grace in Doubt - John 20:24-31 - guess speaker Regan Janzen

Devotional

Day 1: A Child’s Hand in the Dark, Reaching for Presence

Doubt often feels like fumbling in shadows, unsure what solid thing awaits our grasp. Yet the act of reaching itself becomes holy when directed toward the One who never leaves. Like a child half-awake in an unfamiliar room, we test the dark not to accuse but to confirm what we already know: faithfulness outlasts our disorientation. Our questions become prayers when they drive us to seek the nearness we crave. God welcomes restless hands that grope for His constancy. [41:08]

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV)

Reflection: When has doubt led you to actively seek God’s presence rather than withdraw? How might your current questions become a bridge rather than a barrier?

Day 2: Job’s Stars and the Weight of Unanswered ‘Why’

The cosmos mocks our demand for explanations. God’s reply to Job thunders with galaxies and ocean depths, not tidy answers. To stand beneath that sky is to trade certainty for awe. Our ‘why’ matters less when we remember Who carved the earth’s foundations. Doubt shrinks to its proper size when we kneel beside Job, silenced not by shame but by glory. Trust grows when we stop measuring God by our yardstick. [43:49]

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!” (Job 38:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: What ‘why’ have you been clutching that might loosen if you focused more on God’s character than your circumstances?

Day 3: Thomas’ Fingers Tracing Resurrection

Doubt’s climax came not in a skeptic’s sneer but a disciple’s desperate hunger for proof. When Jesus offered His scars to Thomas’ trembling hands, He honored raw honesty over tidy faith. Resurrection meets us in the tension between ‘I need to know’ and ‘You are enough.’ Our demands dissolve when confronted with living grace. To touch Christ’s wounds is to exchange doubt’s ache for a confession that reshapes eternity. [55:19]

“Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:27-28, ESV)

Reflection: What ‘evidence’ are you demanding from God that might already be present in His past faithfulness?

Day 4: Motorcycle Wreckage and the God Who Stays

Trials strip away illusions of control. A shattered bike, ICU nights, and helplessness become altars where we relearn trust. God leans into our ‘Why?’ not with explanations but with presence. Like a church rallying around broken bodies, He proves His goodness through community and whispered reassurances. Our scars become testimonies when we let them point to His nearness in the crash. [01:00:00]

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8, ESV)

Reflection: What current hardship could become a ‘taste and see’ moment if you focused on God’s presence over your pain?

Day 5: Blessed Are Those Who Believe Without Seeing

Jesus’ post-resurrection blessing honors the faith that clings to scars we’ve never touched. We stand on centuries of witnesses, their doubt-tested testimonies becoming our footholds. Like disciples sent out with lingering questions, we’re called to proclaim while still processing. The written Word becomes our locked room where Christ still enters, offering peace that outshines certainty. [57:39]

“Then Jesus told [Thomas], ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” (John 20:29, ESV)

Reflection: What ‘unseen’ area of your life most requires you to lean on the faithfulness of God rather than visible proof?

Sermon Summary

God is a good God, and that truth remains unchanged even when it does not feel that way. Doubt can creep into the mind when money is tight, when sadness is heavy, or when life does not look like God has good plans in it. Doubt is not the enemy of faith, though. Doubt can become the thing that makes a person search, like a scared little girl in the dark feeling around to make sure her dad is still there.

Hebrews says faith is “the assurance of things hoped for” and “the conviction of things not seen,” but that does not mean faith has no hard questions. Matthew says the kingdom belongs to those who become like children, and children ask a lot of questions. God is not frustrated by honest questions. Doubt can lead down two paths. Discouragement pulls away from God when the answers are not easy or not liked. Desperation reaches for God more deeply.

Job shows that man is not God. God asks, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” and the answer is clear. Man was not there. God has wisdom that is unfathomably more than human wisdom, so questions are allowed, but God remains God.

Jude calls believers to “contend for the faith,” and that word carries the idea of agony. Faith is a fight sometimes. The Bible does not hide that Sarah, Abraham, Israel, Gideon, John the Baptist, and Thomas all struggled in different ways. Their flaws are included because trials help people relate, and because doubt does not automatically disqualify faith.

Thomas gives a close picture of doubt. Thomas was loyal, even willing to die with Jesus, but he was also literal and analytical. When the other disciples said, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas refused to believe unless he saw the nail marks and put his hand into Jesus’ side. His skepticism stood against ten eyewitnesses, just as unbelief today stands against the testimony of the Gospels.

Jesus came through locked doors and did not shame Thomas. Jesus said, “Peace be with you,” then invited Thomas to see the wounds. Thomas answered with the most personal confession in the Gospels, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus then said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” and John says these things were written so that people may believe and have life in his name.

Trials can make a person ask why, but God can use those moments to say, “Come closer to me. Trust me. Feel around and see that I’m still here.” Doubt should not lead to isolation. Doubt should run to the Father, run to the Word, and run to godly people who show that God still cares.

Key Takeaways

1. Doubt can drive deeper searching Doubt is not automatically faithlessness. Doubt becomes dangerous when it pulls a person away from God, but it becomes fruitful when it makes the soul reach for him in the dark. The image of the child feeling for her father shows that uncertainty can become a holy search for nearness, not a reason to quit. [40:39]
2. God is not scared of questions Faith has assurance and conviction, but faith still brings hard questions before God. Children ask “why” over and over, and the Father is not frustrated by honest need. The danger is not asking, but refusing to bring the asking to the One who has wisdom far beyond human sight. [41:41]
3. Faith sometimes feels like agony Jude’s call to contend for the faith is not light or casual. The word carries the sound of agony, because holding to Christ can feel like a fight through pain, confusion, and pressure. God does not hide the doubts of biblical people, because their weakness shows that the fight itself can belong to real faith. [45:52]
4. Jesus meets Thomas with peace Thomas refused the witness of his closest friends, yet Jesus did not enter the room with shame. Jesus came through locked doors, spoke peace, and offered the very wounds Thomas demanded to see. The Lord answered doubt by giving himself, and Thomas answered with the deeply personal confession, “My Lord and my God.” [54:11]
5. Trials can become memorial stones Hard seasons can raise painful “why” questions, especially when suffering burdens more than the one who is hurt. Yet those same seasons can become places a believer returns to and remembers that God was near, caring, and calling the heart closer. Faith grows stronger when it can look back and say, God was still there by the side. [59:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:08] - God Is Good Even When Doubt Comes
[40:39] - Doubt Is Not Faith’s Enemy
[41:41] - Faith, Questions, and Childlike Seeking
[43:05] - Job and God’s Unfathomable Wisdom
[44:47] - Desperation That Reaches for God
[45:52] - Contending for Faith in Agony
[46:31] - Biblical People Who Doubted
[49:31] - Thomas’ Loyalty and Literal Mind
[51:19] - Thomas Refuses to Believe
[54:11] - Jesus Comes With Peace
[55:19] - “My Lord and My God”
[56:55] - Blessed Are Those Who Believe
[58:54] - A Personal Trial and God’s Nearness
[61:07] - What To Do When Doubting

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 20:24-29
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." [51:19]

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [41:47]

Jude 1:3
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. [45:33]

Job 38:4-7
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? [43:49]

Matthew 18:3
And said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." [42:03]

Observation questions

In John 20, what exactly did Thomas say he needed before he would believe that Jesus had risen? [51:19]
When Jesus came into the locked room, what were his first words to the disciples, and what did he invite Thomas to do? [54:11]
In Matthew 18:3 and the picture of children asking questions, what connection is made between childlikeness and bringing honest questions to God? [42:03]
Jude says believers are to “contend for the faith.” What word picture is attached to that command, and what does it suggest about the Christian life? [45:52]

Interpretation questions

Hebrews 11:1 says faith is assurance and conviction, yet Thomas still struggled. How can real faith include hard questions without becoming unbelief? [41:47]
Job 38 reminds people that God is God and man is not. How should that shape the way a person asks “why” during suffering or confusion? [43:49]
Jesus met Thomas with peace instead of shame. What does that reveal about the way Jesus deals with a believer who is wrestling with doubt? [54:11]
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Since most believers have not seen Jesus physically, what kind of believing is being called for here, and why is that not blind faith? [56:55]

Application questions

When doubt starts to creep in, what does it usually sound like in real life: “Will God provide?”, “Does God care?”, “Does God still have good plans?” Which of those feels closest right now? [40:10]
Doubt can move in the direction of discouragement or desperation. When life gets hard, which direction does the heart tend to go? Does it pull away from God, or reach for him more deeply? [44:39]
The picture of the child feeling around in the dark shows a person searching to make sure the Father is still near. What are some simple ways to “feel around” for God this week through prayer, Scripture, or quiet honesty before him? [41:25]
Thomas was not helped by isolation. When faith feels shaky, is there a tendency to withdraw from God’s people, stay silent, or act like everything is fine? What would it look like to let trusted believers in a little more? [53:40]
Jesus wants more than agreement with facts; he wants a personal confession: “My Lord and my God.” In this season, what would it look like for faith to become more personal and not just correct in the head? [56:21]
Hard seasons can become places of remembrance where God’s nearness becomes clearer later. Is there a trial that can now be looked back on as a place where God was still present, even if it was not obvious at the time? [59:26]
God is not scared of honest questions. What is one hard question that needs to be brought to God plainly instead of hiding it or pretending it is not there? [01:01:20]

Sermon Clips

35s

#ThomasDidntGiveUp

“one thing Thomas did not do was he did not give up. We know this because it's it's eight days later and and and he was still with them. And and so this now, the second time he's meeting with them, and Jesus comes into the room. There's no locked door that can that can hold him back. And and what is the first thing that he says? Is it shame on you, Thomas, for not believing your 10 friends? No. It's it's not. Right? It's peace be with you. And then he walks over to Thomas, and he says, put your finger here in my hands, and put your hand in my side. And then he just said, believe.”

37s

#MyLordMyGod

“And and it it doesn't even say that Thomas felt the wounds, but I'm sure he was just in awe. And and next, we have the most personal confession of faith that is in the gospels. There there are other confessions that Jesus is the Messiah, but this is the first personal where where Thomas makes it personal. He says, my Lord and my God. And so there there are other places where where where, like I said, where where they where they proclaim as Messiah as Peter did, but but never in this personal way. I'm sure that when Thomas went through trials after this, I think his mind probably often went back to this moment.”

42s

#DoubtDrivesCloserToGod

“And so he cares for us in this way, and then I hope this is what it can be for you, that that it can drive you to to a close relationship with God. We we may face trials sometimes, and we may not understand why God allows them, but but these doubts will produce a more and more intense faith. So what should I do when when I'm doubting? I I think first, run to his father, run to the father and to his word. He's not scared of your questions. Like like king David, we we can bring our hardest questions before him.”

30s

#RunToTheFatherAndWord

“And then second, run to godly people around you. Do not isolate yourself maybe as it as it looked like Thomas was kinda doing. Go go to the people around you. Through through every trial, God may be calling you closer, right, to, teaching you to trust him and showing that he's still caring for you. And so just hold on to this unchanging truth that God is good, that he is near, and he's worthy of of all of all of your your service to him.”

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