Some in the crowd who heard these words said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he?” John 7:40-41 NABRE
John writes about a dispute that broke out among the crowd about Jesus’ identity. Those who have witnessed Jesus fall into separate groups; those who think He is a Prophet, those who think He is the Messiah and those who think He came from Galilee and therefore could not be a prophet or the messiah because no prophet is expected from Galilee. It is interesting to recognize there are those who do and those who do not believe in Jesus’ identity as the Son of the Father. People who see the miracles Jesus performs, they hear Him speak and follow Him all over the Jordan River valley, still can walk away from Jesus when pushed for a commitment. John writes about these people helping us know that belief is not easy, even for those who meet Jesus in the flesh and witness all He is capable of being. So when we have moments of disbelief, acting solely on faith not ever meeting Jesus in the flesh, we don’t need to make it the end of our spiritual journey. Like Thomas who doubts and then believes in Jesus, we can have moments that ebb and flow, from belief to doubt and back to belief.
We should always strive to have the most positive outlook on our journey toward God, staying invested in meeting God and joining God’s Kingdom. We should find ways to bolster our faith when we are lacking. In the end God wants to help us grow in our relationship with Him and others, to become completely connected to God. But as we see in scripture there will be moments when we will have setbacks. Don’t let it be a detour, see it as a bump in the road to glory.
Do you have moments when your faith wavers? Do you have a practice to reinforce your belief?
God wants to help us grow in our relationship with Him and others. But as we see in scripture there will be moments when we will have setbacks. Don't let it be a detour, see it as a bump in the road to glory. Share on X#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #doubt #faith #John #everybodyalways #god #jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood #dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture #bibleverse #verseoftheday #cross #last #Matthew #loveeachother #godisgreat #thisVineyard #youversion #everythingalways