I’m the kind of person that has to see something for myself before I believe it. I want to see it, touch it and feel it. Maybe I’m skeptical or maybe, that’s just how my brain works. I am all about an experience! I would have loved to have been a shepherd on that starry night when those angels appeared in the sky announcing our Savior’s birth.

Luke 2:15-20 from The Message reads; 

“As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

^19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they had been told!”

I know I’ve been camped on these scriptures of Jesus’ birth since way before Christmas. But I believe that the foundation of our faith rests on Jesus and God’s incredible love for us. So whether seeing is believing or believing is seeing, the fact of the matter is, we believe in an invisible God. One we cannot see with our earthly eyes. Yet, we believe anyway.

Hebrews 11:1-2 of The Message says;

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this FAITH, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”

For the last couple of months, I have been helping an elderly man. While driving him to the doctor the other day, we had the most amazing conversation. We typically talk about God and this 84 year old man is a library of biblical wisdom. I love it.

While discussing the Holy Spirit, he described the workings as a ‘feeling.’ He turned to me perplexed, admitting that he couldn’t really describe it. Fortunately for him, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I knew the feeling because I had experienced it myself.

When the Holy Spirit reveals knowledge to you, it is often accompanied by a feeling. I call it Holy Spirit chills, where the hair on my arm stands up. For years, I dismissed these feelings as coincidence. But there is no coincidence with God. Once you experience God for yourself, seeing really is believing. This is a spiritual seeing, it’s like another sense God has given us. Once you’ve experienced it, you can’t help but to praise God!

We need these experiences. We need to see for ourselves and understand that we are not alone. There were a few others in the Bible that struggled with this too.

In Psalm 63:2 NIV, David declares; “I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.”

Job 42:5 NIV through his suffering testifies; “My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.”

And in  John 20:24-29 NIV  we see the story of ‘the doubter’;

“Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Thomas was there with Jesus as he walked this earth and yet he had trouble believing. I think most of us are like Thomas. We want to see it to believe it. The amazing thing is, God will always meet us right where we are. Jesus came to Thomas even though he was having trouble believing. Jesus revealed Himself in the midst of unbelief.

In Mark 9:24, we hear the desperate cry of a father for his child. These words were spoken directly to Jesus, ““I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”. May this be our prayer today.

Let us pray: Dear Lord, I believe. Heal my unbelief. Allow me to experience you in new and incredible ways. Then, I will go about glorifying and praising your Holy name. In Jesus name, Amen. -M