Today's devotional for the "Casper Serve" Ministry:

Believing is Seeing

John 11:40  Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"

You have probably heard it said "seeing is believing."  Some things are so hard to grasp or wrap our minds around that we are unwilling to accept them unless we have seen them for ourselves.  We will be unable to accept certain truths as reality until we have personally witnessed them for ourselves.  Some people approach God this way.  They say, "I won't believe unless he shows himself to me or if he will audibly speak to me.  When I see his power displayed in a helpful way in my life , then and only then, will I believe."  Seeing is believing.

Jesus has a way of turning things upside down.  In John 11 he completely turns that idea on its head.  He says Believing is Seeing.  The chapter begins with Jesus being told that his good friend Lazarus is ill.  Though he has healed many, Jesus delays several days before travelling to be where Lazarus has by that time died.  Jesus arrives to minister to Lazarus' grieving sisters. He promises them hope and life eternal and he is going to demonstrate that life by raising Lazarus from the tomb.  When he commands those standing near to remove the stone from the grave, Lazarus' sister Martha objects "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."  That's when Jesus says it: "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"

The crazy thing is that everyone standing around witnessed what happened next, but they did not all see the same thing.  They all witnessed Jesus pray and command "Lazarus, come out." Everyone witnessed a man who was dead walk from his grave.

What they saw though, is revealed in John 11:45-46  "Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,  (46)  but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done."  Some witnessed the miracle and believing saw Jesus as worthy of their faith. Others witnessed the same miracle but unbelieving saw a troublemaker who need to be reported to the religious leaders.

This week our aim is to see the Lord Jesus Christ exalted in our community.  We will all witness houses being repaired and restored by volunteers.  Please don't miss it though. I hope that is not all you see.   Lift your eyes up to see the Lord glorified in what he is doing in this work.  He is glorious.  Believe in him that you might see him like you have never seen him before.  Realize that he is providing for his those he loves, both those receiving the labor and those doing it.  He is demonstrating that He is enough!  Believe, See, Trust, worship!