One of my favorite Christmas movies is the original Miracle on 34th Street. It is about a little girl and her belief in Santa Claus. I think it is one of my favorites, because I remember watching it on Christmas Eve year after year as a young girl. We decided to pull it out and watch it with our children this year. I hadn’t seen it in years.
In the end, the little girl is in the back seat of the car riding home from a Christmas party and she is trying to convince herself she believes in Santa Claus. She’s repeating over and over “I believe, I believe, I believe…”
How many of us find ourselves doing the same thing concerning Jesus? We may not have trouble believing He exists, but most of us have trouble believing in what He says from time to time.
The world says “I’ll believe it when I see it.” So many times we tend to agree with the world without even realizing it. God says “Blessed are those who believe without seeing.” [John 20:29]
Daniel was thrown in a lion’s den and all evidence pointed to his death [Daniel 6:10-24]; however, God showed up and Daniel came out of the lion’s den alive. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a blazing furnace as punishment for not bowing down to Nebuchandnezzar’s statue [Daniel 3:8-30]. They believed they served a good God and they believed He would take care of them.
When challenged to about God they replied, “If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” [Daniel 3:18]. They, like Daniel, believed in God to the point of death.
Thomas needed proof. In fact, he specifically said he wouldn’t believe unless he saw the wounds and touched them [John 20:25]. Jesus called him on it. He appeared to Thomas and the others and told Thomas to come and touch His wounds so He would believe [John 20:27]. As a result, to this day, we all refer to this disciple as Doubting Thomas.
In this Christmas season, are you struggling to believe Jesus for something today? Are you, like Thomas, seeking proof before you can embrace His promises to you? Jesus said, “Those who believe without seeing are blessed.” Trust in Him today. Just as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego discovered, you will find Him faithful.