We Are Blessed For Believing Without Seeing

"Then He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' " John 20:24-29 (NIV)

The disciple Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection. He said that unless he saw nail marks and put his finger in them, he would not believe that Jesus had appeared to them. A week later Jesus reappeared to His disciples and this time Thomas was with them. Thomas saw for himself and he believed.

There is a blessing for those of us who were not there to see it for ourselves, but still believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, The Christ. Those of us who believe are walking by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) The Bible says that without faith, it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6) We are blessed in many ways and for many things, one of those is being blessed for believing that He is who He says He is without having to see the proof for ourselves.

Keep Your Eyes On Jesus And You Won't Sink

"During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's You," Peter replied, "tell me to come to You on the water." "Come," He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. "You of little faith," He said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are The Son of God." Matthew 14:25-33 (NIV)

Not only did Jesus walk on water, He had the power to allow Peter to walk on the water. Peter was doing fine looking toward Jesus, but when he took his eyes off of The Lord he began to sink. As he was sinking he prayed a powerful short prayer, "Lord save me!" Jesus heard him and immediately caught him. All those who saw what had happened worshipped Jesus saying, "Truly You are The Son of God."

Jesus has the power to grant us what we ask for. As long as we keep our focus on Him, by His power we can do what others think is impossible. Our problems begin when we take our eyes off of Him and focus on what is going on around us. That is when we start to sink into sin. Our God is bigger and more powerful than our problems. There is no need for us to ever doubt Him. We just need to have faith, pray, and keep our focus on The Lord, and He will get us through whatever it is that we are facing.