MY LORD AND MY GOD

The solution to doubt is having an upclose, personal encounter with the Lord. Personal encounters with the Lord happen in so many way. It can happen when you soak yourself in God's Word by meditation, which can position you to emit daring faith and take audacious steps. It can also happen when you pray in tongues often and access higher dimensions in the spirit. It can as well happen when a revelator shares some wisdom and insight from God's Word that can upgrade your perspective about God.

Reference: John 20:28-29 New Living Translation (NLT) '"My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."'

Thomas was and is still widely known as the doubter because he doubted the other disciples who told him that they had seen the Lord. He doubted Jesus' resurrection and said, 'unless I see in His hands the print of the nails...and put my hands into His side, I will not believe.' Eight days later, Jesus showed up and said, "Peace to you!". Then He focused His attention on Thomas, and asked him to take his finger and examine His hands. And He also asked Thomas to reach his hand to touch His side.

In John 20:28, when Thomas called Jesus my Lord and my God, he was shocked and overwhelmed, and so he was moved to cry out suddenly in surprise. It was an exclamation of amazement triggered by a supernatural experience that made someone more real to you. Both combination of exclamation meant "my master and the ultimate sovereign". His doubt evaporated because the difference between a doubter and a man that takes God at His Word is an intimate encounter.

When you hear people ask, 'God where are you' or say, 'God has abandoned me', they are expressing a statement of doubt. It denotes a lack of depth of an encounter with the Master and the Sovereign One. This means that divine encounters are important because they create conviction. Thomas had an encounter with the Master that established His conviction beyond doubt that Jesus is Lord and the God of all.

Until you experience God through deliberate encounters, you'll continue to doubt, worry and waver. Yet the Bible says, 'the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord' (James 1:6-7 NIV). Anyone who doubts the Word is unwavering; he is a person with divided loyalty in regard to trusting God. He can be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

Personal encounters with God will give you quality experience and knowledge that add value to your faith. It also facilitates your spiritual growth. Job said, 'I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eyes have seen you' (Job 42:5). That's an utterance from a man who had an intimate encounter with God.

When you have an encounter with God, you'll begin to function by His revelation because you now have strong conviction of who He is. Once your conviction about God is established, your faith demonstrations will be based on that conviction, and results will be evident. It's your convictions about God that constructs your belief system and eliminates doubts.

Scripture Reading - Genesis 32:30; John 4:7-26; Jeremiah 15:16; John 16:14-15.

Exuberant Declaration: I'm grateful to God who has captured my heart by revealing the depth of His person to me. Through my personal encounters with God, divine presence is tangible in my life and it enables me to navigate successfully through the experiences of life. My conviction about God and my faith in His Word are intact and unshakable. As I engage Him intimately, light breaks out like the dawn and guides me aright, thereby satisfying my soul and strengthening my frame. Hallelujah!