I Will Not Believe

John 20:18-25

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."


I chose to stop here though this part of the story is not finished.

The disciples now have seen Jesus. They've heard Him speak. They have recognized Him and knew all He had said was true. Even the words earlier came to fruition: But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. (‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭26-27‬) They now were filled with the Holy Spirit to receive wisdom and power.

But here also is the account of Thomas who needed to see to believe. I think this is where many people are, needing to see and not believing by faith. If one looks around His glory is seen. In all of life His glory is seen. Yet we can take life and all we have for granted. We don't always take into account Who started our life, Who has given us all these things.

Many times we need to be put into a situation where we see for ourselves, through tragedy sometimes, the outstretched hand of the Lord wanting to rescue us. It happens spiritually. And we see, spiritually. We recognize Jesus before us and we believe.

I had no idea prior to my born again experience what was about to take place and even when it happened I couldn't fully comprehend what all had transpired. I just know I had met with Jesus in a moment and He changed my life. A desire to know more filled me...and believing all He had said was true. He breathed on me. His Holy Spirit filled me and began the teaching.

I can say, I have seen the Lord. And others might say, Not until I see Him for myself will I believe. Ask Him to show Himself, if you really want to know. If you are not absolutely sure, ask Him.

James 1:5-6 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Him

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.(Philippians 4:6, John 14:1, 2Corinthians 4:17, Psalm 38:15, Psalm 3:4, John 16:33)

What have I said in the past about things not always being just coincidence? These five scriptures were sent this past week from K-LOVE, a national Christian radio station. One by one I read them and at last realized they were speaking to me on the very things I'd been sensing lately...and what I've been writing about. 

In a nutshell...don't worry...fear not...seek God and seek Him for whatever you need. If you seek, He will respond. Our trust is in Him and Him alone.

If His Word tells us these things, then maybe we really need to listen. Maybe we need to start taking God for His word, trusting Him like we've never done before. Seek Him and His guidance for our lives. Seek Him in all things. It's His "job" to help us, but we need to ask for it. 

I've heard some say He's too busy to ask directly and they seek a long gone saint. These saints are just that, gone. Jesus is here, now, He knows the beginning from the end and knows the intent of every person's heart at any given time. He's not too busy. He's omniscient...having an infinite awareness and understanding. That's our God!

He wants us to seek Him, ask Him and trust Him. He is our Mediator. He already knows all about us and what we need. Do we want to know what marvelous things He has for us? Do we want to be continually challenged by His power? Do we want to seek Him for what He wants to do within us that we might be more like Him? Our wisdom and understanding come from seeking Him. Our strength comes from seeking Him. Our protection comes in seeking Him. Our fear is diminished when we seek Him. 

What more can I say? 

Psalm 9:10 - And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. 

Open Wide!

Matthew 7:11 - If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

I am praying over a situation. Scriptures abundantly remind us that all we need do is ask God and He will hear; He will give good things to those who do ask, to those whom He calls His children.

I decided to do a search on scriptures showing what happens when we ask God for something...this does not mean asking for things which would not be God's will. He hears when we seek Him for protection (Monday's blog), for the desires of our hearts, for His provision, for our purification, for anything in line with His Word. 

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday which sort of caused me some anxiety. As I waited for the orthopedic to come in I realized the anxiety mounting. I whispered: Lord, You are my strength and You know what I need. In less than a minute my anxiety was gone. And the news I received from the doctor was good! Yes, Jesus knew everything in advance and because I was basically asking for His strength, He gave me peace, knowing full well what the outcome would be. God gives us what we need. (See Matthew 6:8 and Psalm 34:4 below!)

Look at this list and notice what happens when we ask Him for "whatever":

Matthew 21:22 - And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.

Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 6:8 - ... For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

Psalm 34:4  - I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 

Psalm 50:15 - Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." 

Isaiah 58:9 - Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am."

Isaiah 65:24 - It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 

Matthew 18:19 - Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

John 14:13 - And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

1John 5:14 - Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

There are so many more. God is there for all who seek Him. Seek Him for His gift of salvation, then seek Him for anything that is in His will. He is there to guide all into truth. He is there for our protection and strength If we, by faith, believe that He will respond to our cries or our petitions, and believe that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do, then...in His timing...He will answer our prayers.

Oswald Chambers, the day I determined to pray over this situation, talked on the very subject! What wonderful confirmation. Chambers said for July 16: He [Jesus regarding Matthew 7:11 above] urges us to keep our minds filled with the notion of God's control behind everything, which means that the disciple [any believer] must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek. When I read that my heart skipped a beat. Not only that but another devotion I read that morning said pretty much the same thing.

I think about the process of my determining to seek God and His Word over this thing and His very swift answer/confirmation. Some might think this coincidence. I consider it a promise...If you have read the scriptures above you will recall Matthew 6:8 which says that He knows before we even ask. He just waited for me to ask. But the clincher is, we must never stop asking.

Chambers added these phrases: ...my Father knows all about it! God is my Father, He loves me, why should I worry? ...rest in perfect confidence in Him.

His timing...always perfect, never too early or too late. He sets the stage behind the scenes and we cannot understand why we might have to wait. But He will respond. We will see His hand at work some day. Acts 1:7 - And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority."

God is glorified through the works He does. AND, we will glorify Him when our prayers are answered. If this world would recognize the power we have through Him. If we would, as scripture says, humble ourselves, pray and seek God, turn from our wickedness He would bring such change in this world, He would heal the land. Imagine if every Christian would truly ask this each day what could happen.

We are living in trying times. If we would be faithful to seek Him now even for the little things and He answers, imagine how when things in our lives get really difficult and we seek Him for solutions, strength or protection, we will already have been strengthened knowing He has answered in the past and will be our "whatever" for the more trying situations. 

Our God is not a God who only punishes, but He promises good things. It's all in how we look at Him. It's all in how much we believe and have faith in Him. Expect nothing from Him if He is not sought. Expect the world if He is. He longs to do great things for us. But we need to ask.

Psalm 81:10 - I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; 0pen your mouth wide, and I will fill it.