April 23: Stop Doubting and Believe
♫ Music:
Day 50 - Wednesday, April 23
Title: Stop Doubting and Believe
Scripture: John 20:26–29 (NKJV)
And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Poetry & Poet:
“Be Believing”
by Tamara Hill Murphy
Later on
that day / the dark room
was enough
to concoct buttoned down
in our minds.
While we lingered bolted-in
shut-up / You
breezed past barricade as One
hole-pocked / exhaling
absolution, a hot gust
peace be with you;
materializing new
as Yourself / awake & alive
after the woman's claim
you spoke her name.
afraid / our fingers
trace your split side
'til we inhale
Your closer breathing
our truer air
STOP DOUBTING AND BELIEVE
Today’s devotional focuses on the experience of Thomas encountering the resurrected Christ. Leading up to this encounter, Jesus had appeared to several of his disciples in a locked room shortly after he rose from the dead. Thomas, however, was not among them at the time. He famously said, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hands into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25b) Thomas was like all of us in our flesh. While Jesus was involved in his earthly ministry, people kept asking for signs, but even after he performed many miracles, many still did not believe that He was God (John 12:37). Just seeing a miracle or even the resurrected Christ will not generate faith––yet for those of us who have faith, physical signs can encourage us, and I think this is what happened to Thomas. We inhabit physical bodies in a physical world, part of God’s creation, and it is easier sometimes for us to feel something is real when we can see and touch it. Once Jesus stood in front of him and showed him His hands and asked him to put a finger in His side, Thomas proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”
The painting by Giovanni Antonio Galli, Christ Displaying His Wounds is a picture of what Jesus may have looked like to Thomas. Tamara Hill Murphy’s poem, “Be Believing” reveals both the physical and spiritual aspects of the resurrected Christ, “who breezed past barricades as One hole-pocked…” The poem further explores the disciples touching Him, “…our fingers trace your split side ‘til we inhale your closer breathing our truer air…” And the song, “Jesus I Believe,” expresses our longing to feel Jesus with us and around us.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Mark 9:24. Jesus had just cast a demon out of a boy, and the boy’s father proclaimed, “I believe; help my unbelief!” As Jesus said to his sleeping disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) We need the Holy Spirit to believe in God and to trust in Jesus because we do not naturally do so. Like Thomas, when life’s waves come, I find myself doubting God’s power and goodness, sometimes even his existence. I need to cry out to the Holy Spirit, “I do believe! Help my unbelief!”
Jesus tells Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We need to remember that in a sense it is spiritual weakness to always seek physical signs and wonders to bolster our faith. As Scripture says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Prayer:
Lord, thank you that you have risen! Thank you for all that you have done for us and help us to trust You even in the midst of life’s ups and downs when we do not feel you are near. Help us to consistently walk by faith. And when we falter, help our unbelief.
In Jesus Name,
Amen.
Dr. Alicia M. Dewey
Professor of History
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab
About the Art:
Christ Displaying His Wounds
Giovanni Antonio Galli
c. 1630
Oil on canvas
132 × 99 cm
Perth Museum and Art Gallery
Scotland, United Kingdom
In depicting the resurrected Christ, artist Giovanni Antonio Galli shows Him displaying His wounds with a mixed expression of sincerity and anguish. Christ is shown in a three-quarter-length view with a white linen cloth draped around His lower body. The visible wounds on His hands and side serve as powerful reminders of His sacrifice on the cross and the power of the resurrection. The intense realism and dramatic directness with which Christ confronts the viewer gives the painting a psychological intensity and immediacy not commonly found in works of this period.
About the Artist:
Giovanni Antonio Galli, also known as Lo Spadarino (1585–c.1651), was an Italian Baroque artist who was a member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Caravaggio). He was influenced by Caravaggio's dramatic lighting, monumental figures, naturalistic detail, and momentary action. His activities are poorly documented but he is known to have been working in Rome in 1597. In 1616 he worked on the decoration of the Sala Regia in the Palazzo del Quirinale with painter Carlo Saraceni.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Antonio_Galli_(artist)
https://www.burlington.org.uk/archive/article/a-caravaggesque-christ-in-scotland
About the Music: “Jesus I Believe” from the album Beautiful Offerings
Lyrics:
I wanna walk with You, Jesus
Feel your presence.
And know You're near.
I wanna see You Jesus,
Move in power.
And cast out fear.
I need to hear You now.
I need to know it's You.
I'm standing on Your promises.
I know Your word is true.
You’re bigger than what I see.
It's You in exchange for me.
Because even the impossible,
Can be reality.
Jesus I believe.
Jesus I believe.
I wanna say what You're saying.
Speaking life to what is dead.
And I want to cling to You, Jesus.
Ohh, hanging on Your every breath.
I need to hear You now.
I need to know it's You.
I'm standing on Your promises.
I know your words are true.
You're bigger than what I see.
And it's You in exchange for me.
Because even the impossible is your reality.
Jesus I believe.
Jesus I believe.
So let Your Kingdom come
And let your will be done,
Here on the earth
Just like it is in heaven.
God let Your Kingdom come.
And let Your will be done.
Right here on earth just like it is in heaven.
I need to hear You now
I need to know it's You.
I'm standing on Your promises.
I know Your words are true.
You're bigger than what I see.
And it's You in exchange for me.
Because even the impossible is Your reality.
Jesus I believe.
Jesus I believe.
So let Your Kingdom come
And let your will be done,
Right here on the earth
Just like it is in heaven.
God let Your Kingdom come.
And let Your will be done.
Right here on earth just like it is in heaven.
I need to hear You now
I need to know it's You.
I'm standing on Your promises.
I know Your words are true.
You're bigger than what I see.
It's You in exchange for me
Because even the impossible is Your reality.
I need to hear You now.
I need to know it's You.
I'm standing on Your promises.
I know Your words are true
You're bigger than what I see.
It's You in exchange for me
Because even the impossible is Your reality
God even the impossible is Your reality
Jesus I believe.
Help my unbelief God.
Jesus I believe.
About the Composers: Jason Ingram and Michael Weaver
Jason David Ingram (b.1974) is an American Christian music producer and songwriter. He has been a songwriter for many Christian artists, including Bebo Norman and Point of Grace. Since 2003, Ingram has been the lead vocalist of the Christian pop rock band the Longing. Ingram co-founded in 2009 and is currently the lead vocalist for the band One Sonic Society. At the annual SESAC Awards, held in Nashville in 2007, Ingram received the "Christian Songwriter of the Year" award.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Ingram
Michael Weaver is a singer-songwriter and the lead vocalist for the band Big Daddy Weave. Big Daddy Weave, known for their songs “Redeemed,” “My Story,” “The Lion and The Lamb,” “The Only Name (Yours Will Be),” and many more, have now been appearing across the country for over nineteen years. While Big Daddy Weave continues their work as one of the top radio and touring artists in Christian music, simultaneously, Mike follows the part of his journey that leads to even more intimate settings as a solo worship leader.
https://goamusic.com/mikeweaver
About the Performers:
Big Daddy Weave is an American contemporary Christian band from Mobile, Alabama. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of Mike Weaver, Joe Shirk, Jeremy Redmon, Brian Beihl, and Raul Alfonso. Since 2021, they have been signed to Curb Records. Mike Weaver served as worship leader of a Pensacola, Florida, church and attended a community college in the area. He came to the university at the urging of his pastor, and studied voice. In 2006 and 2007, Big Daddy Weave toured with Mark Schultz on his Broken and Beautiful tour. In 2009, they headlined the What Life Would Be Like tour with guest musician Josh Wilson. Bassist Jay Weaver died from COVID-19 on January 2, 2022, at the age of 42. Big Daddy Weave released the single "Let It Begin" on March 15, 2024, off of an upcoming studio album. The band is currently on the spring leg of their Heaven Changes Everything tour, accompanied by Hannah Kerr and Austin French.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Daddy_Weave
https://bigdaddyweave.com/
About the Poetry and Poet:
Tamara Hill Murphy is a poet, writer, and spiritual director. Since 2006, she has shared writing and resources on her website to help people worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty. With decades of practice in ministry and leadership roles, she delights in helping those who are weary or burdened by focusing on the theme of taking Jesus seriously when He invites us to come to Him for rest and peace.
https://www.tamarahillmurphy.com/
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Alicia M. Dewey
Professor of History
Biola University
Alicia Dewey received her doctorate from Southern Methodist University and has taught at Biola University since 2007. Her courses include the History of the American West; California History; American Democracy, Civil War, and Reconstruction, 1800–77; the Rise of Modern America (1877–1920); Research Methods in History; the U.S. History Survey; and U.S. History Since 1865. When she is not teaching, researching, or writing, she enjoys the outdoors and experiencing the American West through hiking, camping, canoeing, bird-watching, and landscape painting, as well as spending time with her Maltese dog, Ranger. She is a member of Kindred Community Church in Anaheim Hills, California.