Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed

John 20:29

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

When Jesus was risen from the dead, He appeared to His disciples as they were gathered in the cloistered room, afraid of the Jews and hiding from possible persecution from those who had crucified Christ. Jesus appears to them saying, “Peace be unto you.” The first time He appeared to them, Thomas was not present. Therefore, when Thomas was told that the disciples saw the Lord, he told them, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” When Jesus appeared the second time to this group of disciples, Thomas was with them. This time, the Master turned His gaze to Thomas, and said, “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.” Thomas responds with “My Lord and my God.” He believed! He was convinced! He knew he was looking into the face of the Son of God! But Jesus said, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Blessed are they! Those that have never seen the risen Lord face to face! And yet have believed! Blessed are they!

You see, it is easy to believe something when you see it. But do we have eyes of faith to believe the things which we see not, and do we with patience wait for them? For hope that is seen is not hope! True faith that believes is faith that remains strong when nothing tangible is seen. Nothing palpable is felt, and nothing visible is realized. That is true faith, my friend. Blessed are they, the Lord says, who have not seen, and yet have still believed. My dear friend, we know Christ, and we know He is real and true and alive. And we know, brethren, that He is our Lord and our God. Therefore, why should we not believe Him? We may not see with our eyes everything the Lord is doing, but we see the Lord at work. Therefore, we believe! Be not consumed with the physical, but rather be enthralled with the spiritual. Be not so taken by the visible, that the invisible is hidden from your sight. There is much we do not see that the Lord is doing. We therefore believe anyway. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed!

“Father, we thank you for all that you are doing that we do not see and are not aware of. We know that you are real, without a doubt. And as Thomas said, we know you are our Lord. You are our God. Therefore, let us not be faithless, but believing. Help us to be believing you for the intangible, the invisible, and the unseen. May our faith be truly stronger than it has been before. And may we know that for this we shall be blessed. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”