Thomas Still Addicted to Doubt

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:24-31

Steps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12

Thomas did not trust anything unless he saw it with his own eyes and even then he doubted. He was so accustomed to trusting in himself that it was difficult for him to trust God. God allowed this scene to play out to train Thomas, the disciples, and those of us who read this story. God wants us to trust Him because of what He says, not because of what we see. (II Peter 2:16-21). His words are more trustworthy than what we think we see. Jesus took great pains to be sure that Thomas had a physical event to rest upon and then corrected him by telling him that he had seen Jesus but those in the future would be blessed by “reading” this account and by putting faith in the story without the physical sight. Jesus also said that those who believe on what is written will have life through His name.

Prayer for Today: Lord, You know our history. You know our past. You know what we will do with the testimonies in this little devotional. You know if we will have faith in what You say or in what we think, and in what we fear. Help us today to put our faith in You and not in our fears. Help us today to experience that spiritual experience in You.