The Way
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 | The One Who Stayed
– 2 min read
Scripture
John 20:24-28
"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.' 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!'"
The Story
Thomas gets a reputation he doesn't entirely deserve.
He is remembered as the doubter — the one who wouldn't believe without proof. But there is something in this passage worth noticing before the doubt becomes the whole story. A week after the resurrection, when Jesus appeared again, Thomas was there. He had not left. He had not decided the other disciples were wrong and walked away from the community. He stayed in the room with people who believed something he could not yet believe — and he kept showing up.
And Jesus came back for him.
Not to rebuke him. Not to shame him in front of the others. Jesus showed Thomas exactly what he said he needed to see — the hands, the side, the proof. And Thomas's response was not a careful theological acknowledgment. It was the most direct confession in the entire Gospel: My Lord and my God.
The Way Before You
Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Departure is.
Thomas doubted and stayed. That is a different thing than doubting and leaving — than deciding the questions are too hard and the community too naive and the whole thing not worth the effort. Thomas brought his doubt into the room and kept showing up, and the risen Christ met him there.
The week after Easter is often the hardest week for honest people. The emotion of Sunday gives way to the ordinary questions that don't resolve as easily as a service does. The belief that felt clear on Easter morning can feel less certain by Wednesday. That is not a spiritual failure. That is the ordinary experience of a person taking their faith seriously enough to let it be tested.
The invitation is the same one Thomas received: stay in the room. Keep showing up. Bring the doubt with you rather than letting it drive you out. The risen Christ did not wait for Thomas to resolve his questions before he came back. He came back because Thomas was still there.
Reflection
What doubt have you been carrying since Easter — and what would it look like to bring it into the room rather than letting it keep you out?
Prayer
Lord, I am more like Thomas than I usually admit. There are things I find hard to believe and questions that don't resolve easily and moments when the evidence feels thin. I am not always sure what to do with that. But I want to stay in the room. I want to keep showing up even when I cannot see clearly. Meet me here, as you met Thomas — not after I have resolved everything, but while I am still working it out. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Walking in The Way — Today's Step ⭐
Today I will: Name the doubt I have been carrying rather than suppressing it — and bring it honestly before God instead of letting it quietly pull me away.
I will watch for: The temptation to let unanswered questions become reasons to stop showing up — and let that be the moment I choose to stay in the room.
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