The apostle Thomas in John 20:25 said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Thomas needed proof to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. The miracles of Christ, like turning water into wine, healing the deaf & mute, raising Lazarus from the dead, and many other works of grace were not enough for Thomas. He needed more. Jesus showed him the wounds and Thomas was awestruck; “my Lord and my God” he declared. Like a scientist, Thomas needed material evidence. Most people are like this, giving credence to the old adage, “I will believe it when I see it.” Yet Jesus insists that true joy and happiness results from believing before seeing the evidence. In John 20:29, we read, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” What are we to believe that we do not see? The inklings & resonances of our inner spirit speaking to us. When we become quiet and hear the inner voice of God telling us to do something or believe in something, that is our Lord speaking to us. In those instances, we must act and have faith that those actions will bring about the fruition of the ideas given by God. Dreams are another source of divine messages. Our inner dreams and desires–if tested to match God’s will–is God telling us to move in a certain direction. As we go there, our joy becomes apparent as we walk the path God lays out for us. We become blessed because we believe what God is telling us inside to be true even though we do not see the manifestation of that dream or desire in the material world. That is faith; faith that brings us joy and happiness. So Jesus was telling Thomas that he believed because he saw with his eyes, but greater the joy for those who hear the voice of God giving us a preview or picture of life to come and believing it to be true now!
Put Your Joy in the Invisible
