Resurrection changes everything. It changes the way we see the past, the present, and the future. In the new life of Christ we are all offered the promise that death is not the end.
It really is only the beginning.
Begin now to see God at work to bring life again, to you and to every one.
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
John 20:24-25
Too often we equate our desire for a particular outcome with faith in God. We trust God to do “x” but if it doesn’t happen, then our disappointment turns to doubt. It happened to me when I trusted God to answer my prayers for a child. When I could not get pregnant my faith shattered into a million pieces. Why did God’s will look different from what I wanted?
Thomas also let his disappointment with God turn to doubt. Thomas believed Jesus was the Messiah but his belief was tied to a specific outcome — one that did not include crucifixion. When Thomas heard Jesus was alive, he wanted proof. His faith was restored not simply from touching Jesus’ nail-scarred hands, but by letting go of his former definition of the Messiah. Faith often asks us to believe even if God’s plans look different from what we expected.
Has your disappointment with God caused you to doubt? You aren’t able to touch Jesus, but in ways that can be every bit as convincing, Jesus is willing to come to you and restore your faith.
Tammy Wiens-Sorge
Jesus, lead me to a faith that is bigger than my own hopes and dreams. When things don’t turn out like I planned, please restore my confidence that you are with me in every circumstance. Amen.
But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:10-11