To Encourage You

John 20:29 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

When the Bible speaks in the present tense, as it so often does, it does so to show us the way things are, right now, at this very moment, not the way things will be.  In the verse above we can make the error of thinking that people are blessed who have faith because one day in the future they will realize great blessings because of that faith – perhaps not until after they die, however, in Heaven.  And while it is definitely true that immeasurable blessings await the Christian in Heaven, it is also true that those who have faith have great blessings right now, at this very moment. It is people with faith in Christ, people who aren’t motivated by what they see but by what God has said, that live lives of blessing each and every day.  It is these people that live in the blessing of knowing, because of the things He has told them, that God loves them more than they love even their own children.  What a blessing to know that one lives each moment in the loving care of the omnipotent God.  Knowing this helps us a person understand that nothing can touch them outside of the providence of God.  And though they cannot see Him, they know, because He has told them, that He is a great shepherd Who sees them, loves them, and cares for them every moment of every day (Psalm 23). 

Knowing that God sees us is such a wonderful thing.  To realize that He knows “when I sit down and when I rise up” that He discerns my “thoughts from afar,” that He “searches out my path and my lying down, and is acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:2-3) is a very wonderful thing.  Knowing that this is true no matter how things look to us, gives us confidence to face any situation in life. It is a very blessed thing.  Knowing that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) is a knowledge that blesses us every moment we take the time think about it, for it’s  a knowledge that He is with us even in the darkness.  Why fear anything when we know that such a thing is true? What a blessing this is. 

Knowing that He sees our needs and will surely meet them is another blessing, especially when things look to us or to those near us that such a thing can’t possibly be true.  You see, we have a God who has told us that there is no need to look for miracles at such times. There is no need to see great signs from Heaven or supernatural visions. No, He’s told us to look at the things that are already visible to us and trust Him on that basis.  For example, He has told us to “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26).  Further, He has asked us “Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). 

What great blessing there is in every moment of life in believing that what God has told us is actually true. He’s told us so much to bless us, to make us people that don’t have to say “blessings will be ours, some day” but “We are blessed, right now.”  Belief in the One Who cannot lie (Titus 1:2) makes a lot of sense when you think about it.  He’s one that we shouldn’t have to say “show me” in order to believe.  Of course, we can have that attitude, but there is not much current blessing that comes along with doubt, especially when the One Who has spoken to us has never given anyone a reason to doubt His Word.