We waited inside the arrival area of the foreign airport. We laughed a little, looked for coffee, and tried to find chairs for our bodies that tried to function after 25 hours of travel. I wasn’t surprised when more than once someone came to me and asked about going outside to look for our national host. With each request I simply replied, “No. He told us to stay inside until he comes to get us, so let’s stick with the plan.” My words came out quickly, though I admit now, I had started to doubt if he’d show up.

Looking at Matthew 28:16-17, I see that some of Christ’s followers dealt with doubts, too. “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”

We’re not told exactly what the disciples’ doubts were nor are commentators definitive. Whatever their thoughts, however, I wonder if some of them were like me that early morning? I had expected our host to act like I thought he would. When reality looked different than my understanding of his actions, I started to question. Maybe, like me, the disciples wanted one hundred percent certainty of Jesus' plan before going forward in worship and obedience, just like I wanted 100 percent certainty that we really should just mill about and wait?

It’s interesting that even though Jesus knew that some would doubt, He still gave marching orders to the group. He told them to “go and make disciples”. My foreign co-worker also gave us specific instructions. Maybe he also knew that some of us would doubt his faithfulness. Either way, it comforts me that the Bible gives us examples of followers that doubt.

Our hearts are not a mystery to our God, but even though He knows we may doubt, He still wants us to obey. Stick with the plan. He is faithful.