“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)
Although we cannot see or touch the Lord, living a life of faith is so much about believing without seeing. Peter writes that, although we do not see Him, we receive inexpressible joy in believing in Him, and as a result, obtaining the salvation of our souls.
Jesus made it clear that we must become like a child to enter the kingdom of heaven. Young children are totally reliant, trusting in their parents. They are shaped by their parents and can be easily convinced to believe in things they cannot see. Children also find joy in any circumstance. When I was very young, I remember the time our basement flooded, and we put on our boots and walked around as our parents frantically bailed the water out. For them it was a disaster, but for us, it was fun and exciting.
By the time we grow to adulthood, it becomes more challenging to trust those we see, much less the One we cannot see. We struggle to maintain our joy amidst the dark, negative panic stricken world around us. It’s easy to forget that our invisible God is a loving Father, who extends His hand toward us every day.
We become what we fill our minds with, so we must intentionally search for faith filled true stories, filling our minds and feeding our spirits with hope and faith. We can do this through reading Christian literature, watching Christian TV and listening to Christian radio. It lifts our spirit into a different realm, where we rediscover the childlike joy that comes from the Lord, who is our source of joy and strength.
To believe in what we cannot see, as through a child’s eyes, is what Jesus encouraged us to do. To help us become like a child again in our faith, it helps to recall pleasant childhood memories, especially one that takes us back to that earliest moment that God seemed very real to us.
I have a memory from my childhood that still inspires me, each time I think of it. It was a vivid childhood dream I had at the age of five. Since I wrote about it before, I apologize if it sounds repetitious to some.
I dreamed I was in my school which was on fire. People were running in all directions, and before I could decide where to go, someone took hold of my right hand and walked me peacefully through the hallways, around each corner and finally out of the burning building, unharmed. When we stepped safely outside the front door together, I looked up, and it was Jesus standing beside me, holding my right hand. He wore a white robe with a blue cloak, but He never said a word to me. He just looked at me, holding my right hand, and then I woke up.
The memory of that dream became a divine life lesson that I would later recall through good and bad times. Whatever age I am, that memory places me back into the mindset of being a child, with the image of Jesus still leading me and holding my hand. That image will stay with me to my last breath.
Life is like a school, where we sometimes have to walk through fiery hallways. We don’t know what’s around the next corner, but if we keep our hand in His, He will lead us safely through all the fire exits.
The fiery trials in our lives are like our personal “school of life.” It’s a school that does not produce scholars, but saints. Jesus never promised to put out all the fires in our lives, but He is holding our hand and He knows where all the fire exits are. If we keep our eyes of faith on Him and our hand in His, He will lead us through all the doors of our lives, in peace and safety.
By faith, we can believe and love Him whom we have never seen. A child’s heart believes without seeing, and finds joy in the strangest places. If our hand is in His hand, we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us and restores our joy.
Lord, give us childlike hearts, to trust and rely on you in all our ways. As we keep our hand in yours, lead us through all the right doors and restore to us the true joy of our salvation. Amen