The Bible records a powerful statement Jesus made to His doubtful disciple, Thomas, after His resurrection: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
I believe this principle is true to anyone: We are blessed as we live by faith in God. Among the many blessings, peace (John 16:33) and satisfaction (Proverbs 19:23) are promised to those who trust in Him.
Humanly, believing something we do not see is a risky, unnatural job that takes us out of our comfort zones, but, here, Jesus teaches us a spiritual truth that brings us to a supernatural way of living.
Trusting in Jesus is not blind faith. Paul says, “Faith comes by hearing the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of God (John 1:1) — we trust in Him as we hear the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). On this solid rock, we stand and shall not be moved (Psalm 62:6-7).
The foundation of our faith in Jesus is built upon the gospel’s proclamation on the deity of Christ as well as His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 10:9). Jesus Christ is the only way, the truth, and the life through whom humans can come to God and have a personal relationship with Him (John 14:6).
So, what does it mean to trust in Jesus? There are at least three aspects we can learn from the Bible.
1. Commit Our Ways to Him (His will)
Trusting in Jesus means surrendering our lives to Him. It means to trust in Him wholeheartedly even when we cannot understand and always rely upon His guidance (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Just as Jesus prays not for His will, but God’s will to be done (Luke 22:42), we are also to have this same attitude of letting sovereign God take control of our lives.
As we trust in Jesus, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) with a new desire to live in submission to God, no longer to gratify our fleshly desires, but to satisfy God’s will [which only Christ can accomplish through His work of redemption (Galatians 2:20)].
2. Find Rest in Him (His love)
Jesus declares, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). It is the work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit in us, producing the fruit of righteousness and transforming us into Christlikeness (Titus 3:5-7). Therefore, we can welcome the Lord’s invitation to find rest in Him, casting our burdens and cares on Him (Matthew 11:28).
The Spirit also helps in our inability to see Jesus with our physical eyes and enables us to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) and to live with an eternal perspective (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Our restless pursuits of worldly things are over and now focused on God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Having Christ as our Good Shepherd is sufficient, we lack nothing good (Psalm 23). Trusting in Jesus means putting Him first at the center of life, which brings about a peaceful rest in our minds and souls.
3. Take Delight in Him (His promise)
Through the work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, all who believe become the children of God. Trusting in Jesus means having a personal and profound relationship with the heavenly Father.
Having been set free from the bondage of sin and the punishment of death, we can truly take delight in the Lord and enjoy our relationship with Him (Psalm 37:4). We can also be sure of God’s eternal love: nothing can separate us from His love in Christ our Savior (Romans 8:38-39).
Faith in Jesus means eternal life (John 3:16) and secure salvation (Acts 16:31). Paul reminds us to put our hope in Christ not only for this life (such as for healing, wisdom, peace, joy, and earthly blessings), but also for the afterlife because of His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:19-20). This is a wonderful promise which gives hope to the dying world.
Now, even though we have not seen nor touched Jesus, we have this promise in our hearts. The reliability of a promise is not determined by what is being promised, but rather by who has promised it.
Suppose you receive a promise of blessing from the government, would you believe in the blessing or in the government? Of course, in the government who has authority to fulfill the promise.
This is the good news: Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, has given us the promise of salvation. How can we not rejoice and take delight in Him?
No wonder Peter says that we can be filled with unspeakable and glorious joy as we are receiving the end result of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).
Why Does This Matter?
Trusting in Jesus and entrusting our lives to Him is the best decision we can make in life. Salvation is not of human efforts, but of the Trinity.
By God’s grace, we are saved through faith in Christ’s work of redemption and the Spirit’s work of regeneration. Praise be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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Philip Wijaya, Ph.D. currently lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife, Sandra, and their daughter, Shalom. His interest in science and faith in God has motivated him to actively write in his personal blog (philipwijaya.com), in addition to his professional research work in the area of clean energy and chemical engineering. In his leisure time, he enjoys sports, football games, music, and traveling with family.
