Thomas - A Lesson in Discouragement

Many years ago, while I was working on my bachelor's degree, I heard a sermon on Thomas, also called Didymus, in John’s gospel. The sermon challenged the idea of doubting Thomas. A careful analysis of the text in John reveals that Thomas was both discouraged and disappointed in Jesus and God. The greatest tool of the enemy in your life will be disappointment, despair, and unbelief. In this blog, I want to explore the roots that made Thomas vulnerable to unbelief and despair.

Questions to keep in mind as we navigate this topic.

· Who are the men/women in the Bible who went through difficult times?

· What did that person do to overcome despair? What can we do?

· What can we learn from despair? Are we seeing the whole picture?

· What do we do if we feel our faith running low?

· Can we trust God to come through for us?

First mention of Thomas

Thomas (also called Didymus) first speaks in John 11:16, after Lazarus’ death, when the apostles do not wish to return to Judea. Thomas says: “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”

Context:

Jesus receives notice that Lazarus has passed away. Upon receiving this news, Jesus informs the disciples that he will return to Judea because Lazarus is sleeping. To understand the severity of returning to Judea, we must go back through the book of John and examine why Thomas believes that doing so will lead to Jesus Christ's death.

• In chapter 5, He heals a man at the pool of Bethesda. The man was told to pick up his mat and walk. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. In Jewish tradition, Jesus committed a sin by both healing the man and telling the man to walk with his mat, which began the prosecution of Jesus by the Jewish elders.

  
  

• In chapter 6, Jesus presents himself as the I AM, indicating that he is the bread of life, and to partake of him, men/women would have to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood. This, to the Jewish leaders, is a blasphemous declaration, since they did not understand that Jesus was referring to the New Covenant.

  
  

• In chapter 7, Jesus is in the festival of tabernacles, declaring that he is of God and sent by God. Jesus here will ask the Jewish leaders, “Why are you trying to kill me?” John 7:19. They openly deny it, but Jesus knows the intent of their hearts.

  
  

• In chapter 8, Jesus declares I AM the light of the world after challenging those who sought to trick him by bringing to him a woman in adultery. Jesus calls out the leaders, saying, “As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me” John 8:40. Because of their hate, lies, and willingness to kill Him, Jesus calls the leaders out publicly and says, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:42-47.

  
  

• In chapter 9, Jesus heals a man of his blindness, which stirs a lot of trouble for the blind man. He is healed, but he is called along with his parents to testify as to his blindness. Once they verify the veracity of his condition, they challenge the notion of the blind man being healed by God. The blind man rebukes the Jewish leaders, telling them that if Jesus Christ were not of God, he would not have been able to heal him. Jesus hears that the man has been removed from the temple, approaches him, and reveals himself as the Son of God. The man believes in Jesus and worships him. Challenging some of the Pharisees present by saying, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

  
  

• In Chapter 10, we see a series of events that will cause the Jews to desire. Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, directly telling them they are not God's sheep. He follows this with several I AM declarations: I am the gate for the sheep; I am the good shepherd. The Jewish leaders ask Jesus directly, "Are you the Messiah?" And Jesus’ reply is “I did tell you, and you did not believe” John 10:25. John writes,

  “Again, his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

  
  

  As you can see, the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders is slowly getting worse, so much so that Thomas is of the belief that returning to Judea would amount to death, and yet he is willing to go with Christ and suffer the same fate as Christ.

  
  

  Now, let's pause and ask ourselves a simple but obvious question. Does Thomas sound like a doubter, or does he sound like a committed disciple? What are your thoughts?

  
  

  He sounds resolved to follow Christ to his very death, but if that is true, what happened to Thomas between this moment and the resurrection? What changed in Thomas that weakened his resolve?

Second mention of Thomas

Thomas is mentioned again in John 14:5. There, Jesus had just explained that he was going away to prepare a heavenly home for his followers and that one day he would come back again and receive the disciples unto himself. Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?”

In this passage, we see that confusion is beginning to set in and that a series of expectations is being lost. If Jesus is the Messiah, then where is he going? Why would the messiah leave? How will I know the way to God, if the way is going away?

Confusion in this case is leading Thomas to despair, and despair will lead Thomas to unbelief. Remember, it was just three chapters ago that Thomas was willing to die with Jesus. In this second mention of Thomas, he is starting to crack under the weight of his own questions.

Third mention of Thomas

John 20:24–25 tells us that Thomas was skeptical at first upon hearing that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to the other apostles. Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

These instances of confusion, doubt, and despair are examples of God's grace and love for all of us. God knew Thomas’ heart at first; he was willing to go and even die with Jesus Christ. He begins to doubt and express despair in John 14. He does not know where Jesus is going, and he is painfully aware that he cannot find his way through life without Jesus Christ. In John 20, when he hears of the resurrection, he cannot bring himself to believe it — but Jesus meets him exactly where he is. Jesus heard his exact words. This will be important as we move forward. Jesus seems absent when Thomas expresses doubt, but he was there — God is always present, especially when we are having a hard time in life.

Final Mention of Thomas

Jesus Christ is aware of our thoughts, actions, and speech. This Passage culminates the road of disillusionment, despair, and unbelief for Thomas. He has, as they say, “gone full circle.” Thomas started well, but because of his own personal beliefs, conclusions, assumptions, and expectations – all of which were not a part of God's plan he was disillusioned, and he lost his way.

It can be a hard lesson in life to put your eggs in one basket, to believe in God, and to work hard – only to be told that what you thought would happen will not happen. Life has a way of aways throwing us the proverbial “curve ball.” We will all experience a very bad day sooner or later. How will we stand and believe when the storm of life hits us? In the midst of Thomas' story, there are clues on what we should do to keep the faith.

What Thomas did Right

• Seek peace: When Jesus appeared to his disciples in John 20:26, he says, “Peace be to you.” We need to find moments of peace, we need to stop, meditate on God’s word, pray, seek God for answers, and believe that though he is silent, he is there. As the psalmist said, “Stop striving and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10.

  
  

• Congregate with people of faith: The way to fight despair and unbelief is to surround yourself with people who believe in God. Seek out like-minded people, and do not alienate yourself. Thomas expressed his lack of faith, yet remained among the disciples, who were men of faith. In John 20:26-29, Thomas did not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, but he was among the family of faith when Jesus Christ appeared unto him.

  
  

• Don’t feed your unbelief: Disillusion, unbelief, and despair can be like an attention-seeking child. Don’t give despair your time and effort; work toward your goal and give your efforts to God. Allow God the opportunity to work on your behalf and make the seemingly impossible possible. If you find yourself sinking into despair and lacking faith, remember the story in Mark 9:21-29: A man with a sick child asked Jesus if he could do anything for his son, “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” But Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.” Immediately, the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” I am so happy this passage exists. We are not on our own; he is with us until the very end. If we lack faith and have unbelief, we should pray and ask God to help our unbelief.

Conclusion

Thomas’s story is not a cautionary tale about doubt — it is a testimony of how deeply God understands the human heart. Thomas began as a fiercely loyal disciple, willing to die with Jesus, yet the weight of disappointment, unmet expectations, and confusion slowly eroded his confidence. His journey mirrors our own: we start with zeal, we encounter hardship, and somewhere along the way, our assumptions about how God

should act collide with the reality of how God does act. That collision often births discouragement.

But Thomas shows us that discouragement is not the end of the story. Jesus did not rebuke him from a distance or shame him for his unbelief. Instead, He stepped into Thomas’s pain, repeated Thomas’s own words back to him, and invited him to touch the very wounds that purchased his redemption. God meets us in the exact place where our faith falters.

Thomas teaches us that despair is not a disqualification — it is an invitation. An invitation to seek peace, to remain among the people of faith, to refuse to feed the voice of unbelief, and to cry out honestly, “Lord, help my unbelief.” His journey reminds us that God is present even when He feels silent, working behind the scenes, preparing to reveal Himself in ways that restore our confidence and deepen our trust.

In the end, the man who once said, “I will not believe,” became the one who declared with clarity and conviction, “My Lord and my God.” That is the power of a God who refuses to abandon us in our discouragement. Thomas’s story is a promise: no matter how far we drift into confusion or despair, Jesus knows how to bring us back — not with condemnation, but with compassion, truth, and the peace our hearts long for.