“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
Our fears are easily sparked by what we see all around us, while faith is defined as “the assurance of things not seen.” God rewards those who diligently trust in Him, and we all want the assurance of faith in what we cannot see, but somehow our eyes keep getting in the way.
We get caught up in looking at the troubles all around us, and fear grips us at times. Our eyes see negative images and forecasts on the news, or a bad medical report, or a bill we cannot pay, or strained relationships. Fear arises from the thought of losing something. It could be the fear of losing our health, our financial stability, a job, or a relationship. We could also fear losing control in some way, losing respect, losing our peace or losing our loved one.
Fear is based on what could possibly happen, even though it hasn’t even happened yet. It interferes with our trust in God. I’m a planner, and the hardest thing for me is to live one day at a time. Faith is trusting that God loves us and wants the best for us, before we can see how He will accomplish it.
I can find the faith to tell God that I’m leaving the problem totally in His hands, but then I find myself checking in and monitoring Him, to see how He is doing. We can only do our part, and leave the things that are out of our control, up to Him. It’s a daily process, to leave things in His hands, as we refocus our trustful gaze on the One we cannot see.
Trusting in what we cannot see is like letting yourself fall backward, with someone ready to catch you. I would usually need a quick glance to look behind me, but if we have to keep checking to see if the Lord is ready to catch us, then it’s not faith.
I like to periodically remind myself of the Bible’s definition of faith:
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
We must ask ourselves, Can we trust with assured conviction that Jesus is ready to catch us? He left the gospel image with us, that He is in our boat with us during the storm, which is enough to put our trust in Him.
Naturally, we cannot avoid seeing problems, but we don’t need to fix our gaze on them.
Worry is a brief glance at God, with a longer gaze at the circumstances. Trust is a brief glance at the circumstances, with a longer gaze at God.
We decide where to focus our glances and our gazes, which determines whether we live in fear or trust.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” He called people blessed, if they believe what they can’t see. Whatever we know to be true about God, is what we gaze upon, and we do it one day at a time.
All trials are temporary but His promises are forever. He gave us His promises in scripture to help us trust Him without seeing:
He promised us rest instead of anxiety (Matthew 11:28)
He promised to fight our battles for us (Exodus 14:14)
He promised to set us free from any type of bondage (John 8:36)
He promised forgiveness and healing of all diseases (Psalm 103:3)
He promised to supply all our material needs (Philippians 4:19)
When worrisome thoughts return, I need to trust in His promises, look up and say something like, “Jesus, I surrender myself to you, I trust you in this, please take care of everything.”
Lord, help us to let go and fall into your arms, fixing our gaze and our focus on your promises, instead of our problems. Amen
