Hope, Doubt, and Belief

Hope, Doubt, and Belief By Paul Chappell

Tuesday, Apr 8, 2014 “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.” John 20:27–29 The Bible does not tell us why Thomas was not present with the other disciples on the evening of the resurrection when Jesus appeared to His followers. But whatever the reason, when he heard the good news from the disciples, he did not believe it. He declared that unless he could personally evaluate the evidence (see the Lord for himself and touch the wounds of the crucifixion), he would not believe. Yet when Jesus appeared to him the following week, Thomas no longer doubted. Seeing the risen Lord changed his heart from doubt to faith. For Thomas, seeing really was believing. But that is not what faith is; faith believes in what it cannot see. Faith takes the Word of God at face value. The story of Thomas highlights the connection between faith and hope. Thomas knew that Jesus had died on the cross. And even though Jesus had told the disciples that He would die and be resurrected, they did not believe there was hope following the cross and the borrowed tomb. Their minds were limited to what was possible from the standpoint of human reasoning. They failed to take into account what God was able to do, and, as a result, they lost hope. The loss of hope led to Thomas’ loss of faith, but meeting Jesus immediately restored it. While we do not see Jesus in person as Thomas did, we do have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that gives us hope no matter what else is happening. Today’s Renewal Principle:  Never underestimate what God is able to do to fulfill the promises of His Word or His power to work in your life.