Believing Though Not Seeing

The apostle Thomas had difficulty exercising faith in Jesus' resurrection from the dead.  "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and stick my finger into his side, I will certainly not believe," Thomas declared.  When Jesus later materialized body that displayed the wounds of his impalement, Thomas responded favorably to this miracle. However, Jesus said:  "Happy are those who do not see and yet believe." -John 20:25-29.

Today, millions of Jehovah's Witnesses are "walking by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7)  Although they did not see the miracles recorded in the Bible, they firmly believe that these occurred.  The Witnesses exercise faith in God and his Word. With the help of his spirit, they are able to understand the Bible's teachings and its predominant theme-the vindication of Jehovah God's sovereignty by means of his heavenly Kingdom.  (Matthew 6:9, 10; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17) With great benefit to themselves, these genuine Christians apply the Bible's wise counsel in life. (Psalm 119:105; Isaiah 48:17, 18)  They accept the irrefutable proof that Bible prophecies mark our time as "the last days," and they have faith that God's promised new world is near at hand.  (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Peter 3:13)  For them it is a joy to share the knowledge of God with others. (Proverbs 2:1-5)  They know that it is only through a study of the Scriptures that those seeking God can truly find him. -Acts 17:26, 27. 

Do you recall Albert, who was mentioned in the previous article?  A few days after his prayer for a miracle had gone unanswered, he was visited by Jehovah's Witnesses, and elder woman who left some Bible-based literature with him. Albert therefore accepted a free home Bible study. As he became better acquainted with the Bible's message, his disappointment turned to excitement. He began to realize that he had found God after all.

The Scriptures urge:  "Search for Jehovah, you people, whole he may be found. Call to him while he proves to be near." (Isaiah 55:6)  You can do this, not by awaiting a modern-day miracle from God, but by gaining accurate knowledge of his Word. This is a necessity, for miracles alone do not build faith.  

Note: You see by sending the Jehovah's Witnesses to Albert's apartment, God has in a round about way answered Albert's prayer; in order to show and teach Albert that there are no miracles performed anymore and that in order to understand God and his ways and words in the Bible, he needed these Jehovah's Witnesses to teach him all that he needed to know to learn about and love Jehovah.  God may not always directly intervene. He will find other ways to help someone.  Or guide them to learn what they need  to learn or to help them.  

Next time:Do You Long To Serve More Fully?

From the Watchtower magazine, 1997