Living by Faith

The words "living by faith" are on my mind this morning.  These words were contained in a song that I sang as a young Christian growing up in a church in Alabama.  If I remember correctly we sang words similar to these; "...I'm living by faith in Jesus above; trusting, confiding in His great love..."  I can remember that we sang this hymn often and with great fervor and determination.  I don't think that I fully understood the deep meaning of truth that was contained in these words until my relationship with Christ began to develop and I began to face those moments in which I was given the opportunity to trust God in spite of my circumstances.  Some of you who read this blog may not remember that song but you can certainly identify with facing difficult circumstances in your life.  The Apostle Paul shared these words with us in 2 Corinthians 5:7, "We live by faith, not by sight" (NIV).  Other translations of this passage use the words "walk by faith" but walk and live give us the understanding that we will face those moments when we must depend on our faith in Christ rather than those things that we are seeing with our eyes.

The miracles that we need are not always visible to the naked eye.  The miracles that we need may be hidden behind and beneath those things that we are facing at that particular moment.  But it is at that moment that our faith in Christ is able to see things that others can not see.  That type of faith causes a Mother to go to church and pray for the salvation of her husband.  That type of faith causes a Mother to go to church and pray for the salvation of her children and grandchildren.  That type of faith causes a Mother to go to church and express her belief in the promises of Jehovah Raphe, the Healer of our diseases.  Can you sense what it means to "live by faith" in the above mentioned moments of real life situations?  Living by faith allows us to recognize and witness the Glory of God as He reveals Himself to us during these challenging moments.  Rest assured that each of us will face some of those moments in which what we see appears to be greater than what we are able to believe.  Take note of this statement; We do not place our faith in a creed, or in a religious system, or even in our good works.  NO, we place our faith in the person, Jesus Christ, who is a personal Savior, Healer, and Provider that is involved in our daily lives.  Christ has made it possible for us to live by faith regardless of what may be in the path of our sight.