Many Christians have heard and know the passage from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” We often quote this passage with the knowledge that while we do not know what might be taking place in the spiritual realm, we know that God does. I have felt pressed by the Lord to share some insights that I have gained in recent days in relation to this topic. While what we do in this lifetime may not have any discernable effect, we need to take heart that God is working in our lives to bring about His holy will.

“Come,” he said.  Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  Matthew 14:29-31 

We read this passage and have many different reactions to the passage. We might think of how miraculous it was that not only did Jesus walk on water, but that Peter also did walk on water, albeit only a few steps. We also might see how Jesus questioned the depth of Peter’s faith. I note how we see both the elements from Paul’s letter displayed in this passage: Sight and Faith. Initially, Peter was successful in his obedience to Jesus’ command to come. He took those steps out of faith that if Jesus gave the command then he would also make it possible for him to obey. We walk by Faith. “But when he saw the wind,” Peter experienced fear and began to sink. What we see oftentimes causes us to hold back out of fear of what might happen. Our trust in our sight, rather than the vision that God has for us, causes us to stumble in our walk. We are all guilty of the same shortcoming that Peter experienced. How many times have we looked out into the world and felt disheartened that our efforts show so little fruit? How many times have we held back from pursing a cause for Christ because we have allowed our own self-doubts and concerns prevent us from stepping forward into God’s plan?

Many of us have seen the movie, “Facing the Giants.” One pivotal scene in the movie is when the coach has one of the linemen, Brock, do a death crawl blindfolded with another player on his back. Brock struggles and wants to give up, but the coach keeps on exhorting him to keep going to not give up. When finally an exhausted Brock collapses to the ground lamenting that he had to have gone the full 50 yards he expected to crawl, the coach tells him to take off the blindfold and points out that he didn’t just crawl the 50 yards he thought he could, but that he actually made it all the way to the end zone. “If you walk around defeated, so will they. Now tell me you can’t give me more than what I’ve been seeing. You just carried a 140-pound man across this whole field on your arms.” Brock thought he had failed; he felt defeated because blindfolded, he couldn’t see the fruit of his efforts. I know that unlike the passage from Matthew that this is fiction, but it reflects the reality of what we experience everyday as we walk with the Lord. We walk through life with a blindfold hiding the fruit of our efforts. We do not always see the spiritual results of our efforts and it is easy to become disheartened and believe that we are failing. Like Brock, even when we are exceeding what we believe is possible, we often start doubting that we can succeed. Walk by faith, not by sight.

When David, a teenaged boy, stood on the battlefield and faced Goliath, a battle-hardened giant, he had a vision of God instead of trusting his own sight. He told Goliath: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” (I Samuel 17:45) David did not allow what he could see overshadow what he knew to be true: God is greater than anything, anyone, or any situation that we might face. David had greater faith in God than he did even in himself and God honored that faith with a miraculous victory over his foe. David stepped onto the battlefield armed with a weapon greater than any that a man might wield; David faced his giant armed with a faith in God. I don’t know what giants you might face in your life, I don’t know what winds you feel, I don’t know how close to exhaustion you are, but I do know that you can persevere through faith.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8  

We often lose the vision that God has for our lives. We allow those things that we face overwhelm our faith. I am just as guilty as anyone of losing heart. However, Paul shared these words of wisdom on what to look toward when we have those doubts or fears. We need to think on the good things of God. We need to focus on Him and place our faith in His will rather than what the world shows us. It is my hope that you find some comfort, some encouragement through this post. I also ask that you share this with other Christian friends that might take some measure of encouragement that there is fruit of which we are not aware accruing to our account that we will lay at the feet of Jesus one day.

May God bless and keep you.