Brave Enough to Believe: Trade Your Doubts for Brave FaithSampel

Day 8—Absence

Over the next twenty-four hours, Jesus would be betrayed, put on trial, crucified, and buried . . . with Thomas conspicuously absent. He can’t give us an eyewitness account of these events that changed history, but he can give us a front-row seat to grace. We, too, can retreat to hiding places when fear crowds out faith. Jesus knows just where to find us and invites us to come closer no matter what tries to drive us away.

Although Jesus prepared His apostles for this moment and fulfilled over 300 prophecies through His earthly ministry, they are absent from His final moments. We think to ourselves, surely, this can’t be right. This must be a mistake. The Gospel doesn’t make any mistakes, but it does make us uncomfortable. And it invites us in. Through the encounters present in the final hours of Jesus’s earthly life, we see the heart of our Heavenly Father. Simon, a stranger, carried his cross. A common criminal, who had nothing to offer Jesus, received forgiveness moments before his death. A Roman soldier, an enemy of Jesus, praised God and acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God. Two Jewish leaders, covert believers, were entrusted to bury the Savior of the world. Can you see it? In the apostles’ absence, God wrote all of humanity into this story.

Perhaps, like Simon, Jesus has been a stranger to you. Or, perhaps, like the thief on the cross, you feel that you’ve wasted time and have nothing to offer Jesus. You may see your reflection in the Roman soldier as you look at your choices and lament what you have done. Perhaps fear has shrouded your belief in Jesus Christ, and you’ve kept Him a secret because of what others might say. Jesus is inviting you closer.

John 3:16 tells us that Jesus doesn’t just invite His closest friends to know Him, He invites the whosoever—the wanderer, the wondering, and the wayward. He invites us all.

Question:

How does this help us to live as loved, to demonstrate His love to others, and lead them to become a part of God’s story?

Personal Prayer:

Jesus, thank You that You wrote me into Your story. Help me resist the temptation to hide when I’m afraid and instead, come closer to You.