Our own eyes

Proverbs 3:5-7, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” We read about how Thomas had to see Jesus with his own eyes to believe He had risen from the dead. So many times, we try to breakdown God to our own understanding. It is interesting that the Gospel of John 21:25 states, “And there are also many other things Jesus did, which if written in detail, I suppose even the world itself would not contain the books which were written.” When Jesus came to Thomas, He came and stood in the midst since the doors were shut. He said to Thomas, “Reach, here your finger, and see my hands, and reach here your hand and put it into My side and be not unbelieving but believing.” Thomas could then say, “My Lord and My God.” Jesus said to him “because you have seen Me have you believed? Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe.” What limits do we set on God? Can God do only what we can see? Can anyone understand God’s magnitude? Hebrews 11:1-3 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” So many instances are recorded in the Bible of God’s greatness. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Yet, like Thomas because we don’t understand the purpose of God, we start to limit Him. We begin to lean on our own understanding. We only allow God to lead us in the direction we see or feel comfortable within our own limited understanding. We are like Israel being led out of Egypt. We don’t totally trust Him. We get to the Red Sea, and see no way He can rescue us from our enemy. We begin to doubt. Exodus 14:15-16 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.” Has God’s greatness changed? Were His promises only for a select few? Hebrews 13:8 gives us the answer, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, yes and forever.” God was reliable in the past. We can trust Him today, and we can hold fast to the hope that is tomorrow. Don’t foolishly limit God to your own understanding. We are never meant to understand God fully. We are just meant to trust who God is.