Living by Faith

https://odb.org/MY/2022/02/12/living-by-faith

A fundamental aspect of our belief system as a Christian is faith. We are justified by faith, not by works. Our salvation and our place in heaven is a gift from God, made possible only by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection thereafter. Therefore, our faith in Jesus Christ believing that He is the Son of God, the Lamb of God is the basis upon which we will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

It is by faith that Abraham heeded the call of God to depart from the Ur of the Chaldeans to the Promised Land, upon which God made a Covenant with him to make his descendents as numerous as the sands on the seashore or the stars in the sky, that some of his descendents may even be kings.

We believe in God even though we can’t see Him. We believe in Jesus Christ based on what was written in the bible, which we believe is the Word of God and God Himself. All those stories and narratives written in the various books of the bible, we believe every single one of them to be true even though we were not there to witness them when they occurred or there currently might not be available independent coroborative support like the story of creation, the fall of man, the great flood or the parting of the Red Sea.

We heed the voice of the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sins and turning us to God eventhough we can’t see Him. But we know He lives in us, and as we pray He strengthens and empowers us and enables our fullest potential in God to be realised since God raised us up with Christ and we are now seated together with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). We are now partakers of the riches of His glorious inheritance (Ephesians 1:18).

With such fundamentals, therefore, how difficult it is for us as believers to live by faith and not by sight? The very foundation and basis of our belief is faith and faith is believing in the unseen. In Hebrews 11:1, Paul elaborated that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Thus, it is true that living by faith is trusting in God’s character and power. We know that if we live by faith and not by sight, God will be there to support us, to help and guide us. He will not let us rot or die and neither will He allow anyone to throw us under the bus.

I think a good illustration is that of a blind man that is familiar with the surroundings of his home. He knows that as he walks straight from his bed, he will meet the door of his room and a few steps away will be the staircase and as he walks down, he will have his sofa on the right and this dining table on the left. With God, it is more than just that familiarity because as the blind man moves around his house and if someone had repositioned his chair, God is like a person looking after the blind man and will put the chair where it was originally, so that when the blind man reaches out for his chair, it is there. As he reaches out for his mug, God is like the person who will place the mug at his hand. He will not struggle to find the mug as God is like the person who is there for him, constantly watching over him so that he doesn’t stumble or fall and who will watch and guide him as he steps out of his house to the outside world even though he has no sight.

I believe that as we respond in faith to God and His call upon our lives, He will work all things together for good (Romans 8:28). When we move out in faith, we will then be like Abraham who trusted in His power and character. His power that can make all things possible and His character that loves us and will thus protect us. Walk in faith and not by sight, and we will realise our fullest potential in God because by doing so, we will be fully dependent on God and God being God, He will never fail or abandon us for we are all special and precious to Him. He is our God and our Lord and our Heavenly Father.

He who watches over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The sun shall neither harm you by day nor the moon by night. The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore (Psalm 121:1).