God is so merciful that even when people begin to doubt, nothing will keep Him away, says Joel Osteen.
"Today, know that your doubts don't drive God away. He doesn't write us off and close the door. He loves us so much and will do whatever it takes to reveal Himself to us," Osteen wrote in his blog. "When we go through things we don't understand, God doesn't expect us to be superhuman. He just wants us to keep looking for Him. He wants us to keep the door of our hearts open."
Osteen shared the story of Thomas in the Bible, who like most people encountered moments of doubt in his life. When word got out that Jesus rose from the dead, all of His disciples rejoiced, except for one - Thomas. The skeptic disciple refused to believe in Jesus' resurrection until he had seen that it happen with his own eyes.
"Understand that Thomas spent as much time with Jesus as the other believers. You might say he 'grew up in church.' In other words, he knew all the scriptures. He knew all the right answers. Deep down, he wanted to believe, but his mind was filled with doubts," explained Osteen.
A few days later, Jesus appeared before His disciples. At first they thought He was a ghost, but they later recognised Him. Osteen said it's so interesting that Jesus went straight to Thomas instead of greeting His other disciples first.
"He didn't go out of His way to show Himself to the people who had the most faith. Instead, He went right over to the one disciple who had the most doubt," he said.
And Jesus told Thomas it was okay that he had his doubts. He encouraged His disciple to feel His hands and touch His scars. Jesus was telling him: "Thomas. I'm a faithful God, and I will do what I have promised."
Just like Thomas, Osteen said that it does not matter if people have doubts or if they have questions, because God can look beyond these and see people's hearts.
