May 22

“We live by faith, not by sight.” —2 CORINTHIANS 5:7

Many people would much prefer to live by sight rather than faith. They want to know the reason for everything, see what lies ahead, and be able to predict and formulate their own strategies for moving forward. As Christians, this is not a privilege we are given. We walk by faith and not by sight.

There are, however, two dangers that some may face in walking by faith. One is that it can be used as an argument to become passive. “Alright, I shouldn’t do anything. Don’t even think about it. Just trust God is going to do something.” The Christian life is not at all passive, but involves actively seeking God and His will. How do we do that? Psalm 119:133 says, “Direct my footsteps according to your word.” That means if we are going to discover the will of God we have to set our minds and hearts on the Word of God.

There has been a huge demise in people’s reading, meditating and handling of the Word of God. Most people reason it’s because we all have a million other things to do, and it seems reading the Bible is the last thing we have time for. Actually, it should be at the top of the list, because reading the Bible helps and directs us with the million other things we have to do. Some Christians even disparage the Word of God, because they have the idea it’s old, dull, predictable and outdated. The Bible is timeless and it is in God’s word that He speaks to us. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Direct guidance from God is alive, fresh and exciting.

The second danger is that we can assume the will of God is so different from ours that we can never really know it. The fact is we don’t have to know what the will of God is. We have to be in the will of God, and we’re in the will of God when we acknowledge Him in all our ways. He then undertakes to direct our paths.

To live by faith is not a blind, mystical ‘we just hope everything works out’ kind of thing. It is rooted in God’s revelation of Himself. Walking by faith involves trusting God to take us through dark places and along dark corridors where we have no natural explanation as to what is going on. Though we may not know the pathways of life with all its twists and turns, we know God does, and we trust Him. That’s why we walk by faith.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to always walk by faith, trusting your direction and will for my life. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: Is my faith rooted in the Word of God?