Unless I See the Scars

Unless I See the Scars

I need to see the holes where the nails were. 

Before I believe–I need evidence to be sure. 

To feel, to touch, to know it’s true,  

I fear being deceived, as many do.  

 

“Blessed are you,” said Jesus long ago,  

“To those who believe, though don't always know.

Faith is the evidence of things unseen,  

Trusting the promise and all it will mean.  

Do you need to see the scars before committing?  

Do you need trust in the proof you’re admitting?  

Today’s culture cries, “Follow the facts!”  

“Follow the science!”—but faith often acts  

In contrast to what the world demands:  

Degrees and data, not nail-pierced hands.  

Yet God understands the heart that needs to know—  

Jesus showed His wounds so Thomas wouldn’t let go.  

He does that to those of us who need to know too. 

Because He loves us and will leads us to what is true. 

But blessed are you who have never seen

And still believe in Christ the King.

“I need to see the scars,” many say today,  

As they search for God, and hope, and pray.  

Afraid to believe, taught to doubt,  

They need more before they can work it out.

If you need to see his scars, dear friend, it’s okay.

If that is what it takes, for you I will pray. 

Just as Jesus met Thomas with grace back then,  

I pray He’ll show you what you need—Amen.

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!" 

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 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.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

John 20:24-29

 

 

 

They Know Not What They Do

They Know Not What They Do

A long time ago, in a place far away,

As Jesus hung on the cross He did say:

“Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”

And still today, walk a path that's not true.

I stand and gaze at the world's vast population,

Listening to the news and man's declarations.

I realize nothing is new under the sun–

We repeat, age by age, what's already been done.

The right accuses the left, the left accuses the right,

Each side convinced they dwell in the light.

They invoke God’s name to defend their morality,  

Yet truth isn’t found in political polarity.

I look at the world and wonder: do they know, God, what they do?  

Do they grasp how far they’ve drifted from You?  

So I pray, as Jesus did long ago on the cross:  

“Forgive them, Lord—they are truly lost.”

I don’t say this to excuse mankind,  

For not all are blind—some choose to be unkind.  

Yet who am I to judge what others believe or say?  

All I can do is kneel and pray.

“Open their eyes, Lord, so they may see  

That only in You can they truly be free.  

Forgive them, for they know not what they do—  

Illuminate their vision so they may follow You.”

We live in a world where hatred reigns,  

Where passion and pride leave spiritual stains.  

But I believe change is near—not by my hand,  

But by Your Spirit moving across this land.

They know not what they do, indoctrinated by lies,  

Which is why so many on the right are despised.  

We know not what we do when we fail to seek truth,  

When we follow like sheep, uncaring and uncouth.

Yes, they know not what they do—so I’ll continue to pray,  

Entrusting their souls to God each day.  

I’ll reserve judgment, for only He can decide  

Who walks in blindness, and who in pride

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson

Unexpected

God moves in ways we don’t expect—  

What He ordains, the world rejects.  

We sketch our plans, but He smiles instead,  

And shifts the path where we thought we’d tread.  

He moves in ways both bold and unseen,  

His hand at work in all routine.  

His thoughts are higher, His wisdom deep,  

He reigns above—our souls He keeps.  

God’s ways are unexpected—by design,  

Set in motion before our time.  

We lean on strength that cannot last,  

Yet find His sovereignty steadfast.  

So when life shakes and feels unsure,  

And you wonder if He’s still near—  

Fret not, His ways are not like ours,  

They stretch beyond the stars.  

His ways are not our ways—hold fast.  

He moves through seasons as they pass.  

He knows the end from what we see,  

Which is why He moves so unexpectedly.

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

9 

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Kicking Against the Goads

Kicking Against the Goads

To those in high places upon the earth,  

To kings and rulers of noble birth—  

Why do you kick against the goads,  

Then stand in shock as God's plan unfolds?

God placed you there; He alone decides  

What comes to pass, despite your pride.  

When you resist His will, you fight the Most High,  

Blind to His purpose, deaf to His why.

God is the true ruler, granting limited permission.  

He moves through history, despite your ambition.  

If you exalt your ways above what He’s designed,  

You kick against the goads—every single time.

To all mankind, of every race and nation,  

A day will come of holy revelation.  

You’ll fall to your knees and confess with your tongue:  

Jesus is Lord—no matter where you're from.

You kick against the goads when you stand on your own,  

Rooted in morals that man has condoned.  

Built on opinions, ideologies, and trends,  

Ignoring the truth that never bends.

God is the same—yesterday, today, forever.  

You fight His will when you chase your own endeavor.  

When you step outside the path He’s drawn,  

You kick against the goads from dusk till dawn.

Paul the apostle thought he was right,  

Persecuting Christians with zealous might.  

But he was stopped by the Savior of all,  

Who asked, “Why do you kick against My call?”

God revealed the battle Paul could never win—  

He was fighting against Heaven, steeped in sin.  

God still does this when we go astray,  

Interrupting our plans in His sovereign way.

And to those who claim to follow Him,  

Yet stand with those who won’t turn from sin—  

Who support infanticide and gender confusion,  

You kick against the goads in moral delusion.

Stop fighting God, my friend—it won’t end in your favor.  

He reigns supreme; our fate rests in the Savior.  

Just as the scales fell from Paul’s eyes back then,  

May we all let God remove them and write His law within.

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson

13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.

Acts 26:13-16

This poem was adapted into a song and can be viewed on my YouTube channel here:

https://youtu.be/x2IweblRYN4?si=7BmMrirK2p-fYxAc

So Over It

We are so over it. The politics of the left. 

The trasgender movement and climate change fanatics.

We are so over the lies that they tell. 

How vaccines help keep people well. 

There was a time when we could share their space 

Without condemnation and disgrace. 

But when I hear the narrative from the other side. 

I am so over their superiority and pride. 

I am so over the fake concern and love. 

Based on their own ideology and not from above. 

Judging us who stand on God's Word as the standard

Calling us derelicts based on their redefined banner. 

I am so over them demanding I uphold-- 

Their ideology and to do what I'm told. 

I am so over their shaming me. 

For my morals and values of which they disagree. 

I am so over their racist accusations. 

As they discriminate against Christians all over this nation. 

I am so over the world's doctrine and ideology

Based on their idols and hypocrisy. 

At the end of the day, as they scream and twist the headlines. 

I ignore their ranting and do what is right.

I need not to earn the approval of man

I stand strong for what I believe and do what I can. 

Their lies and anti God theology falls on dead ears 

Because I am so over what they think and no longer hear.

I am so over the world and its ways. 

Gods Highway is where I will travel all of my days. 

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson

God Is in Everything

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”  

—Psalm 139:16

It’s such a calming thought to consider the sovereignty of God. A truth so deep and complex that words often fall short. Yet even a glimpse of His sovereignty can bless us profoundly.

I often contemplate on the brokenness of this world, and in that moment, God gently speaks to my heart:  

“Remember, I am in everything.”

“Everything?” I ask.

“Yes... everything. Nothing happens on earth without My permission.”

This truth echoes in Isaiah 45:5–7:  

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.”

That moment shifted my perspective. When we set aside our emotional reactions and begin to see through God’s eyes, everything changes. Our hearts soften. Our faith strengthens. We begin to love with His love.

Jesus could have focused on our sin—but instead, He laid down His life so we could live. What incredible love. And what a powerful witness we offer when we lay down our own lives—our pride, our need to be right—so others might see Jesus through us.

Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we wonder if it’s worth it. But we may never know how much love someone sees through our example. No matter how we are treated, we follow Jesus’ example in Mark 14:60–61:  

“But He kept silent and answered nothing.”

I always seem to learn these lessons through my circumstances.

Yes... GOD IS IN EVERYTHING.  

That thought fills me with awe. He governs the universe, and even when we find ourselves in places we never imagined He’d allow, He is still there. May we learn from Jesus as we walk through life. May we trust that God is in the midst of it all, working every detail for good. And may we allow Him to lift us above ourselves, so we can see the bigger picture—His sovereign hand over all creation.

God Is in Everything  

God is in everything—near and far,  

You can't escape His presence, no matter who you are.  

You can't deny His hand in all you see:  

The joy and the sorrow, the lives of you and me.  

God is in everything—even those who seem unkind.  

They too were shaped by His image and design.  

He grants us all the freedom to choose self or Him,  

Yet still He reigns in the affairs of men.  

God is in everything—the powers that be,  

Every plan of man, all that the eye can see.  

He formed this vast universe, though we play unaware,  

Each part unfolding in His divine care.  

God is in everything—nothing escapes His sight.  

No nation rises without His guiding light.  

No success comes without His blessing as well.  

Look closely—His presence is easy to tell.  

God is in everything, even when we feel alone,  

When it seems He’s silent, distant, or unknown.  

When trouble upon trouble clouds our skies,  

Still, His nearness is there—so easy to recognize.  

He’s the gentle solace, the whispering wind,  

The still small voice that calls us as a friend.  

He’s the rod that corrects so we may grow,  

The humbling touch that helps us know.  

Oh, no matter how dark this world may become,  

God is still present, despite what man has done.  

His restoration is near—a new work will begin.  

He governs all things in the affairs of men.  

So fret not when burdens weigh you down.  

God is in the midst, ready to give you a crown.  

He weeps when you weep, and smiles when you seek Him—  

And grants peace through knowing He’s sovereign in the affairs of men.

© 1998 Sandra C. Johnson  

This poem was adapted into a song and can be viewed on my YouTube channel here:

The Resume of My Life

 The Resume of My Life

I prepared the resume of my life on earth,  

Listing all my accomplishments since birth.  

Submitted it to heaven, hoping they'd see—  

My noble acts of kindness and generosity.  

The angels gathered, eyes on every earthly acclaim,  

And asked, “Where in here has she called the Lord’s name?”  

They saw the degrees earned, the honors  declared,  

And the volunteer work that showed how I cared.  

But all of those good works were missing one vital thing:  

They were done in my strength—not in God's name.  

I had letters of praise from respected men,  

But they were hollow words, void within.  

It’s not about what we achieve,  

What matters is who we receive.  

If Jesus isn’t the foundation we lay,  

We’re just building on straw and on hay.  

God sees our hearts and our thoughts within—  

Those are the things that matter to Him.  

And when we’ve failed, He looks to see  

If we let Him restore what He called us to be.  

So throw out your resume, come before Him exposed,  

For all of those things in your heart He already knows.  

No matter how polished your resume looks before men,  

God sees what’s truly recorded within.  

He sees our hearts as they are—  

Every emotion of love, hate, and scar.  

Success in heaven isn’t based on promotion or pay,  

But in the God you trust in with each passing day. 

I prepared my resume, thought God would be impressed—  

But I found out He could care less.  

My resume was tossed, no longer on display,  

And my heart now stands in its place—until the final day.

© 2025 Sandra C. Johnson