John 20:27-29 – 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.” ESV
Thomas was the disciple who said he wouldn’t believe Jesus was alive after the resurrection unless he personally put his finger on Jesus wounds. He was also the one that Jesus was talking to when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6) Little else is known about Thomas from the scriptural records. Some apocryphal literature has him dying at the hands of the king of India, where he is thought to have served his mission time.
Thomas represents all of us. In our story we see that he obstinately said I won’t believe until I get concrete evidence, so that I can see with my own eyes and feel with my own hands. Jesus graciously chastises him about his unbelief. And then Jesus says words for us down the ages, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.” Almost all of us will not see Jesus until we get to heaven. We are asked by scripture and the Holy Spirit to believe even though we have not seen, and if we choose to do this we will be blessed in some way.
This is so important for us in recovery to understand. God wants us to accept, believe that He is going to help us in our recovery, even though we cannot see, hear or touch Him directly. It is a deep scriptural principle that unbelief is a barrier to healing, or in our case recovery. God asks us not to just believe in Him, but to believe Him. When we only believe in Him, we often reject His instructions and go our own way. When we believe Him, we accept His instructions, and even if we have reservations or resistance inside us, we still obey. That is the path to healing and recovery that God prescribes for us.
