Believing Without Seeing

This is Day 40 of my 40 day Lenten Blog.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday and so today, in my last post in my 2022 Lenten Blog, I am writing about the Resurrection of Jesus.

When Mary Magdalene told the Twelve that Christ had risen from the dead they did not believe her. For they had not seen Him risen as she had. Even after the other disciples saw the risen Lord and could attest to His resurrection, Thomas refused to believe. Seeing Christ would not be enough for Him. To convince Thomas he'd have to place his fingers in the holes in Jesus' hands and his hand in the hole in Jesus' side. Thomas finally believed when Jesus appeared to him and allowed him to do so.

But these were men who had seen Christ raise others from the dead. They had seen Him heal the lame and the blind, calm the storm and walk on water. They believed that He was the Messiah. They had given up everything to follow Him.

Their faith had been strong right up to the point where things stopped going the way they had planned. They had faith as long as their will was being fulfilled. But when God's will diverted from their will, their faith faltered.

I cannot number the times I have done the same. True faith does not come when things are going exactly as I expected or wanted them to. True faith comes when things get hard, when unexpected tragedies or difficulties arise and it feels like God has abandoned me.

Jesus told Thomas that, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." (John 20:29). I need to have faith even when it looks like God isn't there. Even when I can't see Him or feel Him. I cannot do that without God's help. But if He does give me that kind of faith I will, as Jesus tells Thomas, truly be blessed.

R.C. VanLandingham is the author of the Peter Puckett series, a Christian children's fantasy that explores what it means to know and love Christ through exciting adventures. His books and blog can be found at rcvanlandingham.com.