The disciples doubted, but they still worshipped
Worship is something that takes place well outside of every other aspect of your Christian walk. Why? Because worship is exclusively God-centered. Worship is ministry to the Lord. Yes, He will minister to you in return because He is faithful, but worship is an act of obedience, an evidence of faith. Hebrews 11 is clear- faith has nothing to do with what we can see or what we experience. In fact, Hebrews 11:27 specifically notes that seeing what is invisible is what makes the impossible happen!
After His disciples saw Jesus die, He then rose from the grave without their knowledge and had appeared to the women who had gone to tend the tomb. It was from their eye witness testimony that the disciples were informed that Jesus had, indeed, risen as He had said He would. (AMEN!) Through those women, Jesus conveyed a message to His disciples to head to Galilee and wait for Him there. They obeyed and sure enough the eleven disciples, “…went away to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him. But some doubted.”
Struggling with your humanity, your sin nature, with how your process your experiences or even secret doubts about who Jesus is are not reasons to avoid worship. If anything, they are reasons to press even deeper into worship!
Why do you think some doubted? Was is because they had not seen Him at the actual grave site? Did they think perhaps they were seeing a ghost? Or some form of trickery? Who cares?! None of those doubts changed the fact that they worshipped Jesus Christ! We all come to worship from our various walks of life and bring our issues with us, things we’re still working through in our walk of faith. Perhaps you’re struggling with fear, or discouragement, addictions, pain, humiliation or shame, remorse and regret, anger, bitterness or even just plain, ol’ doubt. Struggling with your humanity, your sin nature, with how your process your experiences or even secret doubts about who Jesus is are not reasons to avoid worship. If anything, they are reasons to press even deeper into worship! Why didn’t Jesus address their doubts if He knew they had them? Because worship is separate from what we think or feel. He saw their worship and it was enough for Him to then hand them the Great Commission to reach the world!
Thought for today
Immediately after the disciples, doubts and all, worshipped Jesus, He gave them the Great Commission. We know from the book of Acts and other accounts in the Bible that followers of Jesus Christ were not perfect people! They had same human struggles they had to face that we all have! Yet it did not change the fact that they threw themselves at Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him. Jesus sees you. He sees what you’re holding inside, even as you are worshipping Him. But that’s the beauty of worship! Your obedience to worship Him anyway qualifies you to be part of His Great Commission. That obedience means God can trust you with the message He has for you to speak to the world. Whatever you’re holding onto doesn’t matter, get into worship and throw yourself at the feet of Jesus and minister to Him. You are still a world-changer in His eyes!
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