"Seeing is Believing"?
By-Crickettt
James 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. (NKJV)
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (NKJV)
Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. (HCSB)
John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
I know you've heard this short phrase, "seeing is believing" many times but, if we look at it in a Biblical perspective, it's actually not correct. The Bible speaks in the passages given above that we must "believe" before we "see". If you can only see things with your eyes first before you ever believe it; you are actually doubting. Doubting causes confusion and questioning about something. So many people today spend so much time doubting and very little time believing. Then, they wonder why things are not working out the way they hoped. Jesus spoke about the dangers of someone being double-minded because they are confused and unstable in all their ways. If seeing is believing, there's no room for Faith. The Bible says, Faith is an action. It's believing in something or knowing that it exists or will happen, without having to see it first. Without faith it is impossible for anyone to please God because God operates based on our faith in Him and His Word.
When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus (after his resurrection), Thomas told them he would only believe once he saw Jesus' hands and feet where the nails had been driven into them and touched his side where it was pierced by a sword. Later, Jesus suddenly appeared into their room and spoke to Thomas and told him to look and see His hands and feet and touch His side. Immediately, Thomas said, "My Lord, my God!" Then, Jesus gently scolded Thomas for having to see everything first before believing the truth. That's where Thomas got his nickname, "Doubting Thomas".
The Lord wants all of us to walk by faith and not by sight. The Holy Spirit urges and draws people into a relationship with God by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We can't see the Holy Spirit but, we can sense His presence tugging at our heart to come and believe in Jesus as God's Son.
Jesus told Thomas that because he had seen Him first with his eyes, then he believed it was true. However, blessed are those who believe and have not yet seen. (John 20:29)
Jesus wanted His disciples to know the importance of believing without seeing in order to build up their Faith. They could not receive anything from Him while doubting.
Even as Christians, we often find ourselves saying, "I'll believe that when I see it". I guess those old habits just seem to take over sometimes.
In Hebrews 11:3 it says, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible". In other words, God spoke everything into existence.
Prayer is another perfect example of believing without seeing. The scriptures tell us that when we pray, we have to believe that we've already received the petitions of our heart before we can receive anything from God. You develop this type of faith by staying in God's Word and putting it into continual practice in your life. As you continue to build up your relationship with God, your faith and belief in His Word matures more and more. God wants you to trust Him and believe that He has your life in the palm of His hands without your needing to see it all first. When Jesus performed many miracles during the time of His ministry; He would ask them if they believed. When the woman who had an issue of blood for many years heard Jesus was coming to her area and healing people; she believed and told herself, "If I can just touch His garment, I will be healed". The woman did exactly that and when Jesus turned around to her He said, "Woman, your faith has made you whole". She believed first before she saw her healing.
I Pray that you too will walk in "belief " of God's Word and His promises and then, you will see God's plan come together for your life.
*With all this being said, I guess you can actually say, "Seeing (first) is not really believing".
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