Who Has Questions In Her Heart

Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.

AS A YOUNG GIRL raised Roman Catholic in the sixties, I had a lot of unanswered questions about God. In my town back then, the Mass was offered in Latin. I knew the tenets of the Catholic faith, but I didn’t know Christ or His Word for myself.

My parents kept a large Catholic Bible on the dresser in their bedroom, but we weren’t permitted to read from it as children. I would often sneak in and look through it, hoping to find answers to my questions and the God behind my faith. It wasn’t until I was twelve that I received my first Bible that I could search through myself. God revealed Himself to me in the Scriptures, and I’m so glad that He has continued to answer my curiosities and hard questions. This is His heart toward us. He offers us wisdom and understanding when our faith feels unsteady.

We see a moment in Scripture when Jesus showed us that He doesn’t pull back from our questions but offers us an opportunity to have faith.

After our Lord’s resurrection, Jesus appeared to various members of His inner circle. The disciples were hiding together when He was suddenly in the room with them. Well, everyone was there except Thomas.

When Thomas returned, the other disciples began to tell him about the Lord’s appearance to them. Thomas wasn’t so sure. He said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).

When you think about it, the story that the disciples were telling Thomas did seem impossible considering the extent of the injuries that Jesus had sustained during the Crucifixion. We know that Thomas was aware of the nails that had been driven through Jesus’s hands and the piercing of His side with a spear because he specifically mentioned those two events to his fellow disciples. But how Jesus loved Thomas!

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A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

The Lord loved Thomas so much that He appeared to the disciples a second time just to give him a chance to believe that He had been resurrected. I love how He specifically offered Thomas the opportunity to resolve his doubts so that his faith might grow.

Church tradition holds that after the Day of Pentecost, Thomas brought the gospel all the way to the coast of India, preaching to many as he traveled. Ultimately, he was martyred there by being speared. How interesting that after Thomas had verified Christ’s resurrection by placing his hand where the spear had pierced Jesus’s side, he was so committed to his Lord that he could face his own spear without losing his firm belief in the gospel.

Momma, the Lord doesn’t mind your questions! He already knows that you have them. He just wants you to take them to Him so that He might settle them for you. Then you can believe, and your faith can be complete! Tonight we pray that every question you have will be answered so that your faith will rest on a firm foundation.

Tonight we pray for the momma who has questions in her heart. Lord, she might be asking what to do next. She may be wondering why things are the way they are. Perhaps she even needs to know when to move or act or let go. Lord, You know all the questions she has, and You have all the answers. We ask that You’d bring her clarity and direction. Give her confidence and courage as she follows you. Most of all, give her peace.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Lord, please speak to my heart about this question I bring to You now: