Weather report from heaven: Sunny and bright with an abundance of light, and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “For we live by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7
Insight: As we continue our series on Understanding The Times, today let’s consider in more detail the great hope we have as Christians because of the sufficiency, strength and power of Jesus Christ and the eternal nature of God’s Kingdom. This one little scripture from above gives us great insight into how we are to live, but although it sounds simple, in reality it is extremely difficult. We are so used to living with the illusion of being in control, and thus living by what we can see, that it takes a lot of reading and meditating on scripture in order to retrain our minds to be able to live by faith. At its very core, to live by faith is way harder than to live by sight, because it means surrendering our understanding and in fact, many times our way of life, in order to be available to be used by God for His eternal purposes. In the Kingdom of God, availability is way more important than ability, which is 180 degrees opposite of what the world teaches. Jesus didn’t use scholars and successful businessmen and the wealthy to carry out His gospel message. Instead he used a bunch of ragtag guys that the world looked down upon, like fishermen and despised tax collectors and political zealot. What did these men have in common that was so vitally important? When Jesus invited them to follow Him, they were all available.
Probably the greatest example of living out 2 Corinthians 5:7 above was Abraham. In Genesis 12:1 we hear God’s request of Abraham: “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Then in Genesis 12:4-5 we see Abraham’s answer “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abraham’s response was a resounding Yes Lord, even though he had no idea what the future held. He was available to live by faith, even when it made little sense from an earthly perspective. What a great lesson for these times we are living in today. As Christians we may not understand all that is happening in the world, but we are asked to live by faith and not by sight and to trust in the Lord, and lean not on our own understanding. ( Proverbs 3:5-6 )
Some of us may be asked by God to do things that make little or no sense from a ‘living by sight” perspective. In those moments of tug of war that occur deep in our souls, we can remember the lessons of Abraham and just say “yes” to God, even when we don’t understand. Maybe someday it will all make sense. Maybe someday we will be in God’s Faith Hall of Fame like Abraham is for simply being available and surrendering our life to the One who paid it all. Hebrews 11 is the great faith chapter in the Bible and in verses 8-10 it recognizes Abraham for his great trust in the Lord when it says “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Do we trust God and His promises enough to live by faith, and not by sight? That is the question that will be asked of each of us at one time or another, and in our own unique way. Abraham said yes to God many times when he didn’t understand. God was pleased with his faith: “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Will we say yes to God, even when we don’t understand?
Prayer: Father God, help us learn to let go of our perceived control and learn not to live by sight but by faith. This is so hard, Lord, so we ask for Your strength and wisdom in order to do this. We want to be available to You Lord, especially in these days we are living in now. We trust in You alone. Amen!
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