Our Bible verse for today: “Jesus said, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” John 20:29 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Believe even if you can’t see”
We’re all familiar with the story of “doubting Thomas”. Thomas was one of the original 12 apostles. But he wasn’t present at the time the resurrected Jesus appeared to the other apostles and so, Thomas refused to believe that Jesus was alive. A week later, Jesus appeared to them again and this time Thomas was there. Once Thomas saw Jesus for himself he did believe, but his belief was based on sight, not on faith.
This is a primary problem for many people. We have trouble believing in things we can’t see and so many people have trouble believing in God. We can’t see Him and so we often having trouble believing He is real. But He is there none-the-less, and He does reassure us of His presence in many ways.
Author Gary Moon tells the story of how one day he and his wife watched a woman playing in a parking lot with her blind dog. The dog was completely blind and therefore could not see his master. To compensate for the dog’s inability to see, the woman ran backwards across the gravel parking lot dragging her feet and making a scraping noise for the dog to hear. The dog followed the noises made by the woman’s feet and joyfully, playfully, sprinted after his master. As she continued to back up she kept calling out to the dog, “I’m right here, I see you, keep coming”, and the dog responded by continuing to follow the clues the master provided.
Gary said that as he watched this playful exchange between the woman and her blind dog he sensed God speaking to him saying, “Gary, you are like that dog and I am the owner. You can’t see Me, but I am real and I am here. And even though you can’t see Me, I can see you. I’m here. I’ve got you. Just follow My voice and stay close to Me.”
To live the Christian life well we have to believe even when we can’t see. God is real and He is here. He can see you even if you can’t see Him. And, even though you can’t see Him, He will make noise, He will provide clues, He will call out to you so you can be sure of His presence and so you can stay close to Him. Just pay attention, listen and follow.
Oak Hill Baptist Church