Devotion: Not Seen, But Believed
Please take a moment and read the scripture from this weekend John 20:25
In my childhood, I was a good student. I raised my hand to answer a teachers’ question, turned my work in on time, followed directions and was quiet in class. Those qualities led me to do well in school, not only academically, but also in the eyes of my teacher. My teachers loved the kids who were seen and not heard! The kids who had questions always had to stay after class and it wasn’t a reward. It was a form of punishment.
It took me many years of personal growth and maturity to understand that having questions wasn’t a bad thing. I finally got to the point that I understood that using my mind to create thoughts and ideas was actually a good thing. It wasn’t something to be squashed, but rather, something to be explored.
Recently I was in a Bible Study where the women ranged from first time Bible study participants to life long learners. After a few weeks, one woman expressed frustration with what we were learning and how God was not meeting her expectations. She said she should just “stop thinking and not study the Bible anymore”. In that moment I didn’t know how to tell her that her struggle was faithful, so I didn’t say anything. But I couldn’t get her off my mind and was thinking about her words well into the evening.
The next day I reached out asking if she would like to get coffee with me to talk about some of the questions that came up during our Bible Study. What followed were several get-togethers where we just talked about all the things that didn’t make sense to us. We talked about our expectations of God. We talked about identifying with the characters in the stories we were reading. Did we get our questions answered? No. On the contrary, we thought up more questions! But we had such faithful and meaningful conversations.
Thomas, who we heard about in Pastor Sarah’s message this weekend, became known as “Doubting Thomas” because he asked questions. But what Pastor Sarah pointed out was that Thomas had always been one who questioned and wondered. She called him “Honest” Thomas, not Doubting Thomas. He reacted on gut instincts and fessed up when he didn’t understand. He kept searching when things didn’t make sense to him.
I think it’s better to engage and to interact, to wonder and to question, than to blindly ignore the things that are stirring in my heart. I want to pay attention to those stirrings because many times, God is stirring up a need! He places things on my heart to help advocate for the disadvantaged, to give strength to the tired, to fight against injustice. Just because I’m questioning, doesn’t mean I don’t have faith. Questioning can lead to better understanding and a more meaningful faith.
Gracious Father,
Thank you for all you’ve given me. Continue to stir a curiosity in me for your word and your world. Help me to engage with the things that you want me to care about. Open my eyes and stir up my spirit so that I don’t miss the good works you have prepared in advance for me to do.
In your mighty, precious and saving Son’s name,
Amen.
Written by Julie Anderson
Julie Anderson is a member of Sheridan’s Devotion Writing Team. She works as Sheridan’s Children’s Music Coordinator where she is passionate about teaching children to use their musical gifts to praise God.
Julie is married to Scott and counts her greatest honor as being mom to Adrienne, Eliot and Elise.