Walking by Faith not by Sight

Walking by Faith not by Sight

I heard a great and encouraging scripture on New Year’s Eve. It was so encouraging, I felt led to share it a little in an attempt to encourage you for this coming year.

What is ‘faith’? Well the Word of God puts it this way - “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Faith is confidence in what we hope for – even though we cannot hear it, see it, or feel it. This means we do not look at the world nor listen to all the messages the world is trying to give us. If our trust is in the world only then we are surely lost and without hope. But by faith we therefore put our trust and our hope in God through Jesus Christ – despite all that the world says, thinks, or feels.

The Word of God then says some other helpful things to encourage us further along this line. “Nothing in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39 What an amazing promise this is for us – we can never be separated from God – never, not occasionally, not rarely, but never, never, never !!! Why? Because God is the God of ALL creation and as He made it, He is omnipresent, and He is omniscient. It is therefore impossible for us or anyone else to be out of or away from His presence. So it doesn’t matter what is our problem, God is already there waiting for us to show our faith and honour His promise in Numbers 23:19 that “God is not a man, that he should lie, not a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil? “ (NIV)

So, whatever we are doing for His kingdom is done in His presence. As an example, let me put it this way - we plant seeds when we raise His Name before unsaved people. We may not see those seeds grow and ripen, but someone will harvest them eventually. That is why God will honour your sowing and planting. Just as with every promise of God there is a condition – "IF my people will ... THEN I will heal their land” – so there is a reward for us to store in heaven.

The Word also has something to say about this too. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says “No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” Hey now, that’s another wonderful promise for you to hang on to. Here’s another one from Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Yes – that’s “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” and I can ask and imagine BIG !! Yet there is something else there too – it’s this “according to his power that is at work within us,” So then, God in His wonderful and great mercy & wisdom has put within us a power, the Holy Spirit, who, according to our measure of faith, is able to do more than all we can ask or imagine.

This is staggering !! Is your faith building? Are you encouraged? It doesn’t matter what is happening to us, God is still with us. More than this, within His will and plan for our life, He is able to do everything for us that we can ask or imagine. This is why we are encouraged that “We walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7