2 CORINTHIANS 5:7

For we live by faith, not by sight.

TO PONDER

When I saw this text that I was to use for today’s reflection, I thought Pastor Mat was playing a joke on me. All through the week, we had Bible passages about light and seeing, and then at the end of the week, we find out it is not about seeing, but about faith. Then I realised I couldn’t blame Mat, but the Holy Spirit who guided Mat to this passage. OK, this is therefore important and I had better work out the conundrum.

Remember back to Thursday’s discussion, where we looked at seeing a reflection in a dirty, broken mirror. The way forward with God is essentially unknown to us and we may get only small glimpses of where God is leading us. So we are following God’s leading by faith that He is all that Jesus said that He is.

If we had a clear vision of the life ahead of us, either one of two things would happen. We could know what to expect at every moment, be able to prepare for it and get to the end successfully, priding ourselves in what we had achieved. The more likely scenario is that we would see things that scare us to paralysis and we wouldn’t want to go forward. The advantage of going ahead in faith with the Holy Spirit beside us, is that we will get the training and guidance to face everything we meet along the way, and God will get the glory for all that He does.

Yes, of course we need God’s illumination, but that is really about the relationship He wants to have with us. It is also about the illumination of all that He has already done to enable us to have that close relationship with Him. But the way forward, at each step is based on His assurance that He is with us all the time to guide us along the way.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for the glimpses of Heaven You have given us so that we can be assured that this is the home we are headed to. Meanwhile, on our way there, please help us to keep trusting your promises to be with us as we face the challenges of each day. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping