Faith is Believing Without Seeing

Chuckle: More fun with the English language. "Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present."

Quote: "Faith is to believe what you do not yet see: the reward for this faith is to see what you believe." --St Augustine of Hippo

FAITH IS BELIEVING WITHOUT SEEING

"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see. . . . So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith" (Hebrews 11:1,6 NLT).

Do you remember when you were a child and how excited you became as you looked forward to your birthdays? You couldn't wait for them to roll around because you anticipated receiving gifts and maybe even a special party in your honor. You knew you were in for some wonderful surprises by those who remember your birthday. Looking forward to birthdays provides a child anticipation, excitement, and hope (assurance). When Christians exercise our faith in God, we experience similar feelings. Faith is believing, based on prior experiences and His promises that God loves us and will provide us with new and amazing surprises in His own time.

Faith is the evidence, certainty and reality of things we can't see. Faith gives us assurance that something will happen long before we can see it with our physical eyes. We see it in our mind's eye before it happens. Believing in God's character is the beginning of faith and believing His promises is the ultimate end point of our faith. It's interesting that we often say, "Seeing is Believing;" but God Word says "Believing is Seeing." "So we don't look at our troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever" (2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT).

A little blind girl was trapped in a burning building and was screaming from a third floor window. The firemen on the ground below were holding a net and pleading with the girl to jump. But her fear of what she could not see, the unknown, was just too great and she wouldn't budge. Then her father arrived from work and joined the firemen. He called up to his daughter and told her to jump. She had such faith and trust in her father that the sound of his voice gave her courage and she jumped into the net without hesitation. She could not see what was below with her physical eyes but knew it would be alright because she had faith in her father.

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed. . . Nothing will be impossible with you" (Matthew 17:20 NIV). Jesus commanded His followers to go a make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Was this really possible? It is with God. When God gives us an assignment, it's no longer impossible, but a certainty -- if we only believe Him and step out in faith. Our faith gives us the ability to see the impossible being accomplished long before God chooses to bring it to pass. We should all remember, "And without faith it is impossible to please God"  (Hebrews 11:6 ).

Love, Jerry & Dotse