On Walking by Faith

Many people have a verse that they claim as theirs. It’s a passage that has held immense truth for them and guided them through difficult circumstances. This verse becomes the words to which they cling, the mantra they repeat to motivate them when weary, and the wisdom they turn to to remind them of truth. These are the verses people will have tattooed on their wrist or have in their Facebook or Instagram bio to represent where they have been and where they want their life to go.

Earlier this year, that verse became 2 Corinthians 5:7.

⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

When I began grasping for this verse and the short but profound truth to it, I was running from a situation that I knew would ultimately only lead to my destruction. It was a circumstance I was once deceived into thinking was the right path only to slowly realize through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that what I had hoped to gain and what I thought was a gift from God only turned out to be a mirage with a pit of quick sand below it.

As I began walking through that season of growth and recovery, I questioned so much of what God had in store for me and if what I wanted for my life was actually his will. And so I began to cling to the truth and walk by faith, not by sight…not by what I saw, not by what seemed to have failed, not by how I had seemed to fail, not by how I had not reached a stage in life I wanted and for which I had hoped and prayed for for so long. I began to choose to walk by faith, to walk by His assurances, His promises, and trust that whatever the path held, God would be with me and lead me through the doors that were meant for me.

But I know I am not the only one who has ever found themselves at a point in life where their only choice has been to walk by faith and not by sight.

Whether you are facing a difficult diagnosis or have a loved one caught up in a heartbreaking situation or someone has hurt you in unimaginable ways and you are doubting if justice will come or if that person feels any remorse and will ever change and apologize, walking by faith instead of by what you see in front of you is often the most difficult mountain to climb of all.

These are the situations that make us question if God is truly good, if he really loves us, and if there really is hope, but even when a situation seems hopeless and the odds are against us according to what we see through our human eyes, God is ever present working all things out for the good of those who love Him.

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,^[a] for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

A concept I sometimes teach my students are called literary lenses, and it’s where you examine a text through a certain perspective. It’s a useful practice to understand how someone with a different world view and philosophical framework might perceive a text and what an author could have meant through that lens. I see walking by faith and not by sight in much the same way.

So often we view our circumstances, however overwhelming and impossible they may seem, through a very physical lens. We see everything that seems to be going wrong because we are such physical beings. It’s kind of our default. But when we are walking with the Spirit we have access to the lens of faith that gives us hope and helps us to see the spiritual warfare going on all around us and the ways that God is working for his glory and our good. We remember situations that happened long before our current circumstance that have built us up to be able to handle the current crisis. We recognize the hardships we have once faced as a means to provide comfort and guidance to those who are now going through a similar difficulty. We realize how one decision ultimately created a ripple effect that lead to positive and wide-reaching impact. We walk by faith because of how he has been faithful to us in all circumstances.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Once we have recognized God’s own faithfulness to us, we can trust that he delivers on his promises, for how could we trust someone who has not yet proven themselves trustworthy? But God has given us every reason to trust him. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I have a sticky note on my bathroom mirror that reads “Faith = Assurance” to remind me of this very verse and the truths it teaches. When we walk by faith, we are not blindly walking around, fumbling through darkness. We carry ourselves with confidence in our God and his promises. So often in worship we sing a song called Standing on the Promises, and scripture is full of promises from God that we can stand on and walk by. Here are just a few:

• God will give us wisdom when we ask for it (James 1:5).
• God is the ultimate judge and He will bring about his perfect justice in the right time and measure (Romans 12:19).
• God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us (John 14:26; Romans 8:26-27).
• God will be with us always (Matthew 28:20).
• God promises that though the wicked prosper in their ways for a little while one day they will be no more. He also promises to clearly reveal our righteousness and justice as the wicked people scheme against us. And he promises a heavenly inheritance to those who wait for the Lord’s action (Psalm 37).

Walking by faith and not by sight is no small task. It requires a constant leaning on God and trusting that even though we can’t see the destination ahead, we know it is there, that he will lead us on the right path to it, and that he will deliver on his promises. Even when we are going through some version of the valley of the shadow of death, we can trust he is protecting us with his discipline and guidance.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,^[c]
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Psalm 23: 4

Photo by Francisco Gonzalez on Unsplash