God’s word provides a solid foundation, an anchor for us to place our trust in, especially during this season! But, for many, God’s word may not hold the stability they need because they struggle to believe it is true! The struggle to believe is nothing new, in fact, it began in the Garden of Eden. From the beginning of human history, people have wrestled with doubt (an inclination not to believe or accept a claim), but we all need to believe in something. We need faith. Like breathing is to our physical body, faith is the foundation of our spiritual being and to not believe (not have faith) means we are “dead” spiritually.

Now in case you are someone who struggles to believe, let’s take a peek into the gospel of John and look at one of the first recorded conversations that happened after the resurrection! 

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24-29) 

This story is well known and has earned Thomas the title “doubting Thomas”.  You see, Thomas was away when Jesus came to the disciples on Easter Sunday. When he shows up they tell him that they have seen Jesus, and he simply doesn’t believe them. He explains, “unless I see…I will never believe”. Even with the testimony of all of his brothers, he just can’t make the jump. Now, before we get too tough on Thomas, remember what they are asking him to do. They are asking him to believe that Jesus, who suffered and died an unfathomably, cruel and painful death and was buried in a tomb with a Roman guard for three days is now fully alive!! Honestly, this is a hard message to wrap your mind around if you are someone who saw the crucifixion. But, I think that despite Thomas’ claim, he desperately wants to believe it is true!

Play the tape forward eight days and Jesus shows up again, but this time, Thomas is there. Right after Jesus says, “peace be with you”, He addresses Thomas. This episode gives us a window into the tenderness of Jesus and also His omniscience. He knows Thomas’ struggle, in fact, even though Jesus is not there when the disciples talk to Thomas the first time, He knows exactly what Thomas is feeling. Jesus tells him to “see” His hands and to touch His hands and His side to feel the wounds. Of course, Thomas immediately believes and worships Him: “My Lord and my God!” What made the difference for Thomas? The encounter with Jesus! The moment Thomas comes face to face with the walking, talking, risen Lord changes him forever! He is now spiritually alive!

The next words from Jesus are monumental for us. He tells Thomas, you believe because you see, but “blessed” are those who believe without “seeing”. This is faith, a belief in something we can’t see but we KNOW is true! But you may be saying, but it is hard to believe in something I can’t see. But, is it really? We believe in a virus we can not see; we believe in the words of the scientists who are navigating this pandemic; we believe that a vaccine can protect us from a disease, but all of these things are just based on the words of mere men; in fact, we have to trust in something we can’t SEE. So, believing is not really our problem!

Science provides us helpful information, but it is fallible. This pandemic has made this crystal clear. No matter how smart we are as humans, we will never have all of the answers. We must find something to put our faith in that is reliable and unchangeable. What we need is an encounter with the risen Lord! And, we can find Him through His Word! Jesus, himself, made this clear in a conversation earlier in His ministry: You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. (John 5:39)

If the Easter season is about anything, it is about becoming a believer! I love how John wraps up chapter 20: ^“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31) The Bible was written so that we can find the answers to the crazy world we are living in. The answer is Jesus who can be found all over the pages of the Bible, and it is in BELIEVING in Him that we have LIFE!

In a time, when there are lots of voices trying to tell you what to believe, hopefully, you see that it is time to commit yourself anew to the study of scripture and encounter Jesus each and every day!

Join me in a new Bible devotional series published by-weekly entitled- IT’S A NEW DAY (sign up on this site to get updates)