Our Defining Moments

“So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see…I will not believe.’” John 20:25

I pray that each of you had a fresh experienced in the celebration of the resurrection of sweet Jesus, now to be always known as Christ Jesus. As we reflect on the events following His risen state, we turn our attention to Sunday evening. Scholars agree that Jesus made His presence known to His disciples that night. With the doors locked Jesus appeared among them in His risen state. ‘But we know that Thomas was not present when Jesus made His appearance to this group…Thomas had to wait another eight days for Jesus to appear…’ Answers in Genesis website, The Sequence of Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances. When Thomas arrived and heard Jesus had been present it didn’t believe. He demanded proof before he would allow his heart to hope. Afterall, he had not experienced the presence of Jesus as they had.

In July of 2001 my mom and dad rented a beach house for our family vacation. We invited my grandmother and had a houseful of 4 generations. It was a great time but also a bittersweet time because the family was missing one of its members. My daughter was still living in darkness and the separation was so heartbreaking for the entire family. My grandmother approached both Bruce and me telling us that she had been led in Spirit to lead a family prayer on behalf of Kristen. Of course, we immediately said yes, and it was one of the most powerful prayers in our family. Grandmother wrote about it in her journal as being THE DEFINING MOMENT and referred to it throughout her entries that year. But the most interesting thing that I am reminded of this morning as I read about Thomas is that because he didn’t experience the presence of Jesus he didn’t believe. He needed to see proof…he needed to touch the proof…he couldn’t allow his heart to once again experience death. After that prayer, although I was very encouraged and blessed to be a part of it, I didn’t experience Jesus in the same way Grandmother did. She could see answered prayers when there was no proof. She had connected with the Spirit by being in a personal relationship with Him in the years leading up to the family prayer time…I had not. It would be another 3 years of ‘me demanding like Thomas that I see proof of her delivery…touch proof of her delivery…allow my heart to hope again.

But not Grandmother as you can witness in her journal entry below 5 days later when she proclaimed healing for Kristen. Thankfully, Thomas experienced Jesus eight days later and took Him at His word. I experienced Jesus in an intimate way 5 years later and by then Jesus had rescued Kristen. Why do I tell you all of this? It is because I am convinced that until we develop a personal relationship with Christ, we miss out on so many of His appearances in our lives. We miss out on the peace and comfort that He is able to provide during the most difficult times in our lives. Jesus proved everything He needed to prove when He walked out of the grave. When we are able to take Christ at His word, we will begin experiencing healing before it has ever occurred…healing in broken relationships…healing in broken health…healing in broken dreams. And the entries of our lives will be written in the beautiful ink of Defining Moments.