Faith Comes Full Circle

 October 29, 2025

John 20:27–28

“Then he 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!’” 

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Labels in life can be misleading can't they? Labels can serve as a quick way to understand, but they often oversimplify the richness of a person’s story. Labels are everywhere. We wear them, assign them, and often live beneath them. “She’s the quiet one.” “He’s the black sheep.” “They’re the helper.” while these words may carry some truth, they rarely carry the whole truth.

For example, Thomas the Jesus follower in the New Testament often gets labeled “the doubter,” but that’s not the whole story. He was the disciple who wanted to see for himself who wanted faith that was honest, not borrowed. For me, this is the disciple that I connect with most deeply. When Jesus first appeared to the other disciples after His resurrection, Thomas wasn’t there. And when they told him the good news, he couldn’t bring himself to believe. “Unless I see the nail marks… I won’t believe,” he said.

A week later, Jesus showed up again, not to shame Thomas, but to meet him where he was. He invited Thomas to touch His wounds, to see with his own eyes that love had conquered death. And in that sacred moment, doubt turned to worship. “My Lord and my God,” Thomas declared, perhaps the clearest confession of faith in all the Gospels.

Thomas’s story reminds us that God isn’t afraid of our questions. Faith isn’t the absence of doubt; it’s what we choose to do with it. When we bring our uncertainty honestly before God, He meets us there. I read once that "the same hands that were pierced for us are the ones that gently hold our fears."

There was a young woman who grew up in a community of Jesus, but for many years she left behind that community of faith as she wrestled with disappointment and skepticism. Later in life, she returned to that faith community, she said, “It wasn’t that my doubts disappeared, I just met Jesus again in the middle of them.” I believe that’s what happened to Thomas. His faith didn’t erase his doubt; it redeemed it. 

We need to remember that Faith isn’t a straight line, it’s called a journey for good reason. The faith walk or journey loops or zig zags through doubt, discovery, and renewal. When faith comes full circle, it’s often deeper, humbler, and more authentic than before.

What questions or struggles have made it hard for you to trust lately? What might it look like to invite Jesus into that space?

Let's Pray

Jesus, meet me in my moments of doubt. When I wrestle with belief, remind me of Your hands once more. Transform my questions into awe and my doubt into praise. Help me, like Thomas, to recognize You not only as the Lord but as my Lord and my God. Amen.