Today’s post is written by my friend Tori, over at *Aul that and More.* Thanks, Tori! I’ll be posting over at *Coffee Talk.*
John 20:26-29 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!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Here we see where the phrase, “doubting Thomas” came from. Jesus had appeared to all his disciples previously, but Thomas was absent. He heard from the other disciples that they had seen Jesus raised from the dead. But Thomas refused to believe it unless he saw it with his own eyes.
Have you ever been that way? I know I have. I’m a physicist, so it’s natural for me to want “hard proof” about things.
But notice what happens in this passage. Yes, Thomas had doubts. But Jesus came and revealed himself to Thomas, challenging his doubts and encouraging him to believe. Then He says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Wow. Doesn’t that put a new twist on things? To believe, in spite of any doubts or fears we may have. And yet, I believe that is what He wants us to do . . . just simply trust him, to take him at his word, even when we can’t see or understand. After all, He had told them that he would be crucified. He had promised that he would be brought back to life. But the disciples didn’t understand that until after it happened.
This is a lesson I have to constantly be reminded of. I see all the great and wonderful things God does, but when times get tough I tend to revert to worrying about things instead of just simply letting go, and letting God work.
Father God, please forgive me for the many times I fail to believe and let doubts and fears take over. Please help me to just simply trust and believe you will do what you say. Amen
Thank you for sharing, Tori. We know you and Aaron are living this one just now. Trusting Jesus… that old songs says, “Simply trusting every day. Simply trusting thro’ a stormy way…” We struggle with that. Thanks for the reminder!
Here’s another old song:
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
How true. Thank you, for this reminder.
Jean
Beautiful post, Tori. We never have to doubt Him. There’s a gospel song, titled “He Never Failed Me Yet,” which says:
Trust and never doubt,
Jesus will surely bring you out,
He never failed me yet!
Thanks everyone! And Renae…I remember that song. I used to sing it with the choir at my old church. 🙂
What’s neat is Jesus says we are the blessed ones because we haven’t seen and yet believe. I sometimes envy the apostles because they had Jesus with them. That’s when I’m forgetting that I do too! Good post.