“Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.’”
John 20:28-29
A personal encounter with The Risen Christ transformed “Doubting Thomas” into “Believing Thomas.” A personal Spiritual Awakening begins with a fresh encounter with Jesus. He resurrects deadly unbelief into living, breathing belief. This only happens, EVERY TIME.
“My Lord and my God!”
The words of Thomas reflect a change in his perception of Jesus, not his belief system. Thomas had perceived Jesus was absent because he could no longer see Him. Nothing could have been further from The Truth. When Jesus stepped out of his past and into his present, Thomas was transformed.
Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus refers to Himself as “I AM.” He offers His Presence to Thomas and to all who believe. Jesus lives n the present tense, not the past or the future. He is not, “I WAS” or “I WILL.” He is “I AM.”
Thomas had a well-documented history with Jesus in the past tense, but he wandered down a road of unbelief. Believing Jesus was dead and gone left Thomas feeling that he was on his own. Hearing about His resurrection only intensified his sense of separation.. The good news others had received, Thomas had rejected, through willful unbelief. Encountering Jesus restored his fellowship with Jesus and healed his unbelief. Jesus asked,
“Because you have seen Me, have you believed?”
For forty days The Risen Christ would gather His disciples, and teach them about the Kingdom of God. His disciples were living in a world where, “Seeing is believing.” Jesus was granting the privilege of citizenship to those in His Kingdom who embraced “Believing is seeing.” See the difference?
One of the greatest gifts God ever gave to the 20th Century church was a man of faith, Southern Baptist revivalist, Manley Beasley. Faith was the over-riding theme of his preaching and the mission of his life. He said,
"Faith is reason at rest with God." Manley Beasley
Thomas would not be at rest until He had seen The Risen Christ. Jesus questioned the validity of his faith because it rested on what Thomas could see, not what he believed. Rest is found in releasing nagging unbelief into the nail-scarred hands of Jesus.
Prayer provides R.E.S.T. by Releasing Every Single Thing that feeds doubt and fuels fear. Prayer opens unbelieving eyes to see Jesus in the present tense. Blind faith is not sightless, but prayerless faith will never see Jesus. Believing prayer empowers true believers to see Jesus in the present tense.
The study of Church History and Spiritual Awakenings reveals the tendency of the Church to wander from intimate fellowship with The Risen Christ. When the Church focuses their eyes on the works of Jesus in the past tense, they no longer see Him in the present tense. When belief in a system far outweighs belief in The Savior, the Church is marked by unbelief and blinded to His Spirit’s Presence. Spiritual Awakening begins with a fresh encounter with Jesus in the present tense.
“Revival is the Church falling in love with Jesus all over again.” Vance Havner
Jesus honors belief, by blessing those whose lives express, “Believing is seeing.” “Blessed” describes the life of a person who has embraced the reality of, “Believing is seeing.” The life of faith in the Kingdom of God describes a person who has taken an adventurous walk with The Risen Christ.
“Blessed are they who did not see, yet believed.” – Jesus
NOTE TO SELF: You will discover, when you practice His Presence, He is present, and you are well off, fortunate, and supremely happy. Don’t claim to have citizenship in His Kingdom, and then choose to live as an abandoned pauper, or lost orphan traveling down a dead end road. When you feel lost and alone in the dark, R.E.S.T. and ask directions. You will see Jesus is always present, leading the way.
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!