Doubt doesn’t have to be the end of our faith—it can actually lead us to know Jesus more deeply when we bring our questions to Him. Just like Thomas, we can have questions and still choose to stay close to Jesus and the people He’s placed around us.
Notes 📓✏️:
Theology is what we choose to think about God based on what we know about God.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important think about us.”
A.W. Tozer
What you believe will determine how you build.
What kind of faith do you want to build?
“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in you inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
Ephesians 3:16-17
Doubt can be an inspector
Healthy Deconstruction is simply questioning something you have built in order to find answers, truth, or peace.
Doubt can also be an architect.
Doubt makes a great inspector, but a horrible architect.
Which architect have you commissioned to build your life?
“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them “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 20:24-25
Thomas followed Jesus in closer proximity than you and I ever will, yet still struggled with doubt.
“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.” Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””
John 20:26-29
We are not called to deconstruct our faith outside of the people of the faith, which is the Church!
“Be merciful to those who doubt.”
Jude 1:22 (NIV)
“Peace be with you!”
“Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29
Discussion Questions 📝❓:
- Pastor Caden describes our beliefs as individual brick that eventually become the “house” of our faith. What are some foundational beliefs about God that we need to build our lives upon?
- Following Jesus is a lifelong process of building and renovating our faith. What is something God has changed – or is currently changing – in the way you think about Him?
- Pastor Caden said, “Doubt makes a great inspector, but a horrible architect.” How can asking honest questions actually strengthen our faith rather than weaken it?
- Thomas struggled when others experienced something from Jesus that he had not. How can comparison or unanswered prayers create doubt, and how can we keep trusting Jesus in those seasons?