Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge. My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.â€Â       Psalm 16:1-2 (WEB)
This week there will be many sermons spoken from John 20 regarding Jesus’ appearances to the disciples, including Thomas’ doubts. It was another “layer of learning†for me this week as I read the passage again. Just when I think I already know what God was saying through the gospel writer, I get another layer in my learning from the Master. Take a moment and read John 20:19-29.
Jesus meets Thomas’ need for something tangible. He exposes Himself and gives Thomas a look at His hands and side. Jesus doesn’t just tell Thomas to have faith. The Creator knows the limitations of His creation. The Creator knows what Thomas needs to take that next faith step, if he chooses to take that step.
Then Jesus gives Thomas that nudge (or shove!) and tells him what to do next – Stop doubting and believe! (verse 27) It is a choice to just do it. Period. Oh, how our flesh rebels against that step out into the unknown! Thomas, by his answer, proclaims why he decides to take the step.
“My Lord and my God!†(v. 28)
Something in his experience with Jesus, something that he saw or something that he remembers that Jesus said, or a combination over the three years, gave Thomas that lift in his heart and spirit to speak what he knew. That was more powerful than his doubts and fears.
Doubt, uncertainty, and fear can cloud my search for wisdom and knowledge for the next step in my day, in my life. When my relationship with Jesus is current, alive, and growing I have a Light that can clear the cloud from my sight. And sometimes, Jesus gives me His hand to lead me through the cloud. I must walk in faith first, trusting Jesus to bring me, remind me by the power of His Spirit, to the place where I remember my Lord and my God and the many acts of love He has extended to me.
God is my refuge whether it is in the bright sun of a new season of hope in my life or in the middle of a storm when circumstances seem overwhelming, too heavy to bear. In God I will find all that is good. In the darkest ‘unknown moments’ of my life, it is God that is the Light that will direct my ways and bring to me that peace that is beyond my understanding.
“My Lord and my God!â€
