“Live by faith, not by sight” is found in 2 Corinthians 5:6. That’s just six words, but they are packed with implication. They are so weighty with meaning that it’s hard to even unpack them and a bit overwhelming to apply them to daily life. To live by faith and not by sight implies that I am led by what I can’t see. That is totally the opposite of my flesh. Faith, I am finding, isn't as neatly packaged and delivered as I once thought. I have to fight for it, but it is readily available.
Faith is also not blind. People use the term “blind faith” all the time, but my faith isn’t blind. Walking by faith isn’t blindly hoping God will work things out. Instead, it's believing that the Spirit will lead where you can't see. Walking by Faith indicates that we are following Him and trusting that God has a plan even when we don't understand or even sometimes agree with the method.
I can only walk in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit in me creating something new because my absolute default is what I can see. I still tend to lean on that first. I'm getting better, but to be honest, I still get frustrated with my process.
I think our stress level is a good indicator of where we are placing our faith. And now let’s say a collective “OUCH” because for me, that indicates that my words might say I have faith in God, while my actions say that I’m not that confident in Him. In this case, my actions are what counts. If I say that I have confidence in God to take care of me, but I continue to focus on the problem at hand and use my energy to change or anticipate circumstances to maintain my control, then it's just words, empty words.
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”
Hebrews 10:35&36
I don't want to miss my reward because I place my confidence (faith) in myself instead of my God. Is every step a walk of faith in God or myself?
Where do you daily rest my confidence?
Are you confident in God’s ability to work things out or your own?
The way we walk literally determines what we see. Head held high in confident faith, and I don’t miss a thing. I may not know what is coming, but I’ll clearly see how God has prepared me. I can rest my faith in God’s abilities and not be stressed about my own. With my head held low in defeat, resting on my ability, I will only see me…and I’ve got to tell you that doesn’t inspire confidence.
One of my favorite quotes by Corrie Ten Boom compares our faith to radar because it isn’t hindered by the fog. There is a lot of fog in any given day but,
“Faith is like radar that sees through the fog -- the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.”
It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going on the foggy days.
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