Tag Archives: we walk by faith and not by sight

August 4, 2026 · 5:48 AM

Trust Beyond Today

I grew up when you kept a map or an atlas in the glove box to help you find your way. It’s such a different experience from using the interactive maps on our phones. We’ve grown accustomed to them finding the best route, telling us where traffic is, accidents are and rerouting us when we make a mistake. A few weeks ago it told me to exit. I looked ahead and didn’t see any traffic for the next mile or so. I had a decision to make. Do I trust it knows something I don’t or do I know more than it based on what I see? I decided to stay on the freeway. In the moment I didn’t understand what it was doing. Up the road, I found out there was a major accident blocking several lanes with no exit in sight. I sat there wishing I had listened and exited, even when I didn’t know what it was doing.

In John 13, Jesus had gathered the disciples for what we now call the Last Supper. Before they ate, Jesus put on a towel and began washing the dirty feet of the disciples. Peter protested when it was his turn. In verse 7, Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will” (NLT). Peter still protested what Jesus was trying to do in the moment. He didn’t understand the lesson he was being taught, couldn’t see why Jesus was doing a servants job and couldn’t see Jesus was coming to save him from his sins instead of from Rome. Because of his lack of understanding, he pushed back in the moment like many of us do when we don’t understand what God is doing. Peter ultimately surrendered his will and understood later the lesson Jesus was teaching him.

Isaiah 50:10 says, “If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” Much of walking by faith and not by sight is not understanding in the moment what God is doing or why He’s doing it. We don’t see what He’s accomplishing in us through hardship in the moment. In those moments we have a choice. We can protest like Peter or we can trust in the Lord and rely on His understanding in those moments knowing He sees what’s ahead better than we do. Time gives great perspective to the times we’ve had to walk in darkness, without a ray of light. When we look back, we can see God’s hand as we walked through the Valley of the Shadow. When we gain that kind of perspective, it helps us to trust what He’s doing now, even though we may not understand in the moment.

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

May 20, 2026 · 5:37 AM

Trusting God In Uncertainty

I’ve found that when God asks me to do something where the outcome is uncertain, fear has a way of creeping in. Fear of the unknown can create all kinds of symptoms. For me, it creates procrastination while I try to see if I can guarantee the outcome. For others, it creates paralysis through analysis. Some people become very controlling of the things they can control in hopes of being able to control the outcome. What does uncertainty produce in you? There are some who see the uncertainty and instead of giving into fear, they trust God for the outcome and step out in faith. I think we would all love for that to be our go to response.

In Matthew 14:22, Jesus put the disciples in a boat to go ahead of Him across the Sea of Galilee. Along the way, the faced a storm that made their future uncertain. The rain was coming down, the waves were rocking the boat and these seasoned fishermen let fear take over even though they were doing what Jesus asked them to do. After several hours, they looked up to see Jesus walking on the water towards them telling them not to be afraid. Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water” (AMP). The Lord told him to get out as everyone else stayed in the boat. They all had the opportunity to walk on water, but only one stepped out despite their fear and trusted Jesus.

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust and faith in You.” Where do you put your trust when you are afraid? Is it in routines, in what you know or what you can see? Peter and David trusted God over what their fear was telling them. David was in a desperate place when he penned these words. He had been captured by the enemy who knew who he was. Instead of giving into fear of an unknown future, he trusted the character of God and placed his faith their. We all have a choice where we place our faith in times of crisis, fear and uncertainty. Instead of choosing to let fear control our behavior, choose to trust an unknown future to the God you know you can trust. Put your faith in Him, step out of the boat of the familiar and step out in faith. Trust God even in uncertainty.

Photo by Google Gemini

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 13, 2026 · 5:45 AM

Risky Faith

In life and in business, we have learned how to make calculated risks. We run the numbers, we look out possible outcomes and then make a decision based on that information on whether we should proceed or not. The problem we run into is when we let that bleed into our spiritual life and then try to call it faith. They are not the same. Faith steps out not knowing what the outcome will be. Faith is built on trust in God rather than on human wisdom. A calculated risk says, “I’ve crunched the numbers and the odds are acceptable.” Faith says, “God has told me to do this. His word is enough even when it appears the odds aren’t.” One trusts in our abilities while the other trusts God’s.

In Genesis 12:1, God told Abram, “Go away from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you” (AMP). Abram didn’t start looking at the risk of leaving his family behind, walking away from his inheritance or not knowing where he was going. Because God said it, he packed up his things are started walking where God directed him. If he had done a risk assessment, he would have never left based on the odds of survival. However, Hebrews 11 says by faith he lived as a nomad in a tent. By faith he trusted in God’s promise. Genesis 15:6 says that God counted his faith as righteousness. As a result, he became the patriarch of a nation and experienced a close relationship with God.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” It’s not by taking calculated risks that we please God. It’s by acting in faith on what He said no matter what we think the odds are. Acting in faith can seem risky to us. Walking into the unknown can feel scary. But without faith, you can’t please God or truly know Him. Without faith, there is no intimacy with God. Has God asked you to do something and you’re stalling because of the risk? Have you tried to see how it’s possible to make it work? Faith doesn’t look at the numbers or the odds. Instead it trusts God’s abilities over your own. Risky faith takes the first step before you know the second one. God rewards those who seek Him and walk in faith and not by sight.

Photo by Davyd Markovskyi on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,