Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, 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 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24-29
The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.
Thomas gets a bad reputation. It’s easy to look down on him with condemnation because he didn’t believe his fellow disciples when they said that they saw Jesus. We could also look down on him for needing to see Jesus and his uniquely identifying wounds before he would believe. The reality is, in the time after Jesus arose from the dead, we see several people having trouble believing that Jesus was raised from the dead:
Mary and Mary Magdalene (Matthew 28:1-10; Luke 24:8; John 20:15-18): they needed to be reminded of Jesus’s words and see the empty tomb before they believed.
Cleopas and his companion (Luke 24:13-31): needed to walk with Jesus on the road to Emmaus for about 3 hours, hear Him unpack all of the Scriptures prophesying about Him, and then have Him to where they were staying to eat dinner and break bread together.
Peter and John (Luke 20:6-8): heard the words of the women and had to look in the tomb themselves.
All of the other disciples (Mark 16:11; Luke 20:9; Mark 16:12-14; Luke 24:36-48; John 20:19-20; Matthew 28:16-17): they didn’t believe the words of the witness of the women, needed to see Jesus, see Him eat, see His wounds, and hear Him explain that Himself in Scripture and remind them that they witness all that He did.
When we recognize this, we see that “Doubting Thomas” was not so unique. Each of the followers of Jesus needed to see or experience something before they believed. Thomas was just self-aware enough to know what that thing was.
Jesus didn’t condemn or move away from any of His followers for needing to see or experience Him to believe. He actually met them (including Thomas) right where they were at.
What about you and me? What do we need to see before we believe?
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b).
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to recognize what you are waiting to see before you believe. Perhaps today Jesus wants to show Himself to you. Maybe today God wants you to step out and believe. Perhaps today God wants you to forgive yourself for needing to seek more before you find.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!