Unbelief and fear are liars but they can cripple you. Being a wrestling fan I’ve seen a lot of submissions. Moves that cause one to tap out or give up. Gideon faced it. Some people I’ve heard give him a bad reputation and not the Joan Jett song variety. Gideon was not completely wrong in his tests because he came face to face with God who met his fear and unbelief called them liars and said “Gideon you can trust me.” All through the Bible you can see God meeting us at our point of need and sending those trolls fear and unbelief packing. None however is more evident however than what we find in John 20:24-29.
“One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him. ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he replied. ‘I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.’ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly as before, Jesus was standing among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!’ ‘My Lord and my God!’ Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.’”
There’s a few things I want you to notice here. Jesus went through locked doors after being raised from the dead. He waits eight days after Thomas made his proclamation. Now pay attention to that for a second because Jesus had appeared to a few people already and Thomas had a chance to see and hear some things since he had said what he did. Things have been ruminating around in his brain. Now grasp this for a second. Jesus has healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead and so much more yet Thomas is still having problems believing. So Jesus leaves the marks of his death which yes he could have healed but he didn’t because Thomas needed to believe. It was a pivotal moment for Thomas. But the chapter doesn’t end because Jesus said “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” Then in my best infomercial voice “But wait there’s more!” Because verses 30-31 give us more depth into what Jesus told Thomas. See Thomas plays a bigger role than we seem to give him credit for. He’s all of us who need God to tell Fear and unbelief to go jump in the Marianna Trench. But then there’s the others who believe without seeing.... “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”
See in Mark 9:24 a man asked Jesus to help him in his unbelief. That’s what Gideon and Thomas did. When we first come to God for salvation we ask a lot of questions of God typically and he meets us at those stages then we continue to have to trust him day by day moment by moment it’s a growing process. I ask my wife and parents questions because I don’t know everything and I have to trust the responses I get. The principle is the same. Trust God he has been proving and providing for longer than you have existed.
"Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge." Psalm 62:8
Years ago I was at Beach Reach 1996 where during spring break we tried to reach students for Christ. I was very scared at the time and this friend of mine Rhonda said something that I have held onto for years and I'm going to share it with you. I don't know who originally said it but she passed it on to me. "Fear knocked at the door; Faith answered and there was no one there."
Fear is a liar by Zach Williams This is one of my wife's favorite songs.
Desert Rose by Whiteheart So the minor history lesson here is. I discovered this song years ago in the 90's at Skateland West in Annaville, Tx I probably requested it be played more than anyone and it was the reason I became a White Heart fan.
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