“Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” -John 20:26-29
The song “Invisible” was inspired by the story of Thomas and the revelation that Jesus is not invisible. Jesus had appeared to all the disciples, except for Thomas. Imagine what Thomas must have felt when he returned to the disciples and finds something he wasn’t expecting– everyone is in tears, something had just happened. Peter walks up and grabs Thomas by the shoulders and with excitement tells Thomas: “We have seen The Lord! He just appeared to us, Thomas. He’s alive!”
Now Thomas in this moment feels like he has two options, he can either choose to believe the disciples have lost their minds or that Jesus really did appear to them. Wrestling with that must have been incredibly challenging for him. I can hear Thomas in his heart almost saying to himself, “Jesus didn’t want me to see Him? Why didn’t Jesus ask about me? Why didn’t He wait a few more minutes for me to walk through the door!?” Thomas was so blinded by unbelief and insecurity that he was missing out on the amazing opportunity right in front of him.
After eight days, Thomas was sitting with the disciples. They were probably still talking about what happened and what Jesus said, and all the while, Thomas feels a weight on his heart. Then out of nowhere, Jesus appears in the room and without hesitating, He turns His eyes to Thomas and says, “Touch my scars Thomas. Believe!” I imagine that Thomas fell to the floor and cried out,”My Lord and my God!”
I love the story of Thomas, because through it all, Jesus invited Thomas to experience what it meant to truly know Him. He was showing Thomas that He can walk into the room and invite us to experience Him, to tangibly see, hear and feel His nearness to us. But there are also other times, when Jesus invites us into a deeper place of trust and faith not dependent on an experience, but a simple child-like trust and belief in what He has spoken.
To believe when everything around you is saying the opposite, is to walk by faith and not by sight!
Jesus wants us to experience a real, living, breathing, tangible relationship with Him that is built on both FAITH and SIGHT. He wants to encounter you with His love, so you can become a witness everywhere you go, exclaiming to the world with your life, “I’ve seen Him, I’ve felt Him and I’ve heard His voice. He is alive!”
“Invisible” is the first album released by Leeland (Leeland Mooring and Casey Moore) since joining the Bethel Music Collective in 2015. This album offers a refreshing worship experience centered on a simple gospel that is alive in us and through us today. Featuring songs like “Lion and the Lamb” and the title track, “Invisible,” Leeland’s prayer is that this album will move you into deeper levels of intimacy with the Father.
Pre-Order “Invisible” on iTunes and get three songs instantly…click here