Have you ever heard someone say “We walk by faith and not by sight”? What exactly do they mean? We live in a world where sight is important. We have to see while we drive, while we walk down the sidewalk or do yard work. We have to see what we are doing while we cook supper or go out to eat. So what do they mean to walk by faith and not sight.
When most people say this phrase they are quoting the scripture 2 Corinthians 5:7 which says “For we walk by faith, not by sight”. The Bible says that Abraham was a man that walked by faith. Abraham is a great example for us to follow when we look at walking by faith and not by sight.
In Genesis 22 Abraham had to walk by what God said to him and not by what he saw. Basically the story in Genesis tells us that Abraham took his one and only son to the top of the mountain to sacrifice him to the Lord. Now when we hear this most people think why would God do that? That is a little weird and honestly a little mean. But we need to understand something else about this story. God was showing us the plan of redemption for humanity (the lamb caught in the bush) but He was also showing us the importance of walking by faith and what God has said not by what we see. This story is full of examples, analogies, types, shadows, etc… but for time sake I want to focus on walking by faith.
The scripture says that God tested Abraham. A better wording of that statement would be God proved Abraham’s faith. He proved where his faith was. His faith was in God. Abraham was so convinced of who God was that Hebrews tell us that he believed if he offered Isaac up as a sacrifice that God would raise him from the dead. That is walking by faith! Abraham had full confidence in God and His character. He trusted God! He walked by what God said, not by what he felt or saw. He believed God for a son and God answered that promise. He was faithful before and he knew he would be faithful in this event.
You see as Christians we are called to walk by faith and not sight. A lot of times God will say something to you and it seems the opposite of what we see or feel. This is where walking by faith comes onto the scene. We have to be so convinced of who God is and His character that we will do whatever he asks of us. We need to be like Abraham! If God says move, we move. If God says stay we stay. We trust and follow the Lord in every area of our lives because we know God is good and will not do anything to harm or hurt us. Remember we walk by faith and not by sight. I would encourage you to build your faith up in God daily. Spend time in the Word and Prayer building yourself up and become fully persuaded that God is good and faithful. And when you do that...stepping out will be a lot easier. Sure you will have thoughts but you will lay those down and step because you are trusting in Him and not in yourself.
Pastor Matt