The Stories We Tell Ourselves While We Wait

John 20:25 · Fresh Start: When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.” — John 20:25 (CEB)

Thomas had eight days between hearing the news and seeing Jesus for himself. Eight days is a long time to sit with secondhand testimony and your own thoughts.

We know what happens in those gaps. Silence fills with stories — and our fear writes most of them. Maybe they imagined it. Maybe grief made them see what they needed to see. Maybe I’m the only one thinking clearly. The longer we wait, the more elaborate our reasons for not believing become. We mistake self-protection for wisdom.

Thomas’s conditions weren’t unreasonable — he wanted physical evidence. But underneath the demand was something more vulnerable: he’d already been devastated once. He was building a wall against hope because hope had nearly destroyed him.

Pay attention today to the stories you’re telling yourself about something you’re waiting on. Are they based on evidence, or is fear filling in the blanks?

God, when our waiting fills with worst-case stories, quiet the voice of fear. Give us the honesty to name what we’re actually afraid of. Amen.