8. Walking Without Sight

Every once in awhile, there is one of those phrases we use all the time that we could be greatly encouraged by if we stopped and thought about what doing it is actually like.

One such phrase is “walking by faith” and that is what I want to talk about today. In the context of Corinthians 5:7, where this descriptive statement is made, Paul is talking about our confidence in the resurrection. He is talking about how Christians live in a manner that makes no sense at all to anyone who does not have the Spirit. He talks about how, when our flesh is groaning, it is not groaning to die but rather to further live, so that “mortality might be swallowed up by life” (v. 4).

In other words, we are being prepared to live fully and live perfectly, and one of the ways that God works that out in us is by giving us much opportunity to walk by faith and not by sight here, now.

Here’s what makes this comic—when we are struggling with our duties or our situations, we go around talking (at least to ourselves) about the very clear signs that we are working in the flesh and not in the spirit. We say things like:

“I just don’t see why I would do this . . .”
“It would just be nice if I knew that this would work!”
“I just don’t know what will happen if I . . .”

In other words, there are moments in our lives when we ought to carry on walking by faith, and because our faith is being wobbly and walking is feeling hard or scary, we stop to talk about how we can’t see well enough to go on. But it is faith and not sight that we are supposed to be walking by. We are wasting our time when we turn to others and say “Show me.”

We ought to recognize in those moments that we should be praying for the Lord to strengthen our faith. We do not need sight, but faith. It is sweet fellowship with God to walk in that which we have received as a gift from Him. Faith has in it a map of a different world, and you cannot check it against the evidence of your eyes looking into the future.

I remember the night after Ezra was born and I was awake and alert, as you are after the adrenaline of childbirth, that God brought this to my mind so strongly. The flesh wanted to wonder about the future—“I’ve never raised a child with Down’s syndrome before! I don’t see what will happen. I don’t know what the future will be like.” And in the Lord’s kindness, the answer that came was just so vivid to me—“Rachel, that is why it is walking by faith.” And more than faith—it is just walking. It is just the next obedient step, always. All your thoughts about what you can’t see clearly are completely irrelevant. I can’t see it all because it is not mine to see, but I can walk by faith with the One who knows all and sees all and created all.

I did not need to be able to run ahead by faith either. I didn’t need to know that night how we would handle therapy or what additional medical help we may need. I didn’t need to know any of that. I needed to trust the Lord that walking with Him was safe and good and glorious. And the way to walk by faith in that moment was to stop thinking about the future altogether and instead ask what faith requires of me right now. And you know what? It required nothing but the easiest and sweetest things. Love this baby. Rest. Stop trying to carry things that are beyond you and be carried instead.

The beautiful thing about the phrase “we walk by faith and not by sight” is that it is just a description. It is a description of why Christians live without fear of death. We believe in the resurrection, and we are being made fit for it by thousands of mini resurrections all the time. Little deaths to self because you are walking by faith and not by sight—little faithful steps, all taking us closer and closer to what we were always meant to be.

Those moments where we are so tempted to sit still and wait for proof that taking that step would be a good idea according to our own eyeballs—those are the moments that are most transformative. Take the step, take it in faith—and what you will find is that your faith is strengthened.

As long as you sit in worry about whatever it is, nothing will be strengthened. Being obedient in a difficult situation is usually counterintuitive. You might feel like you have reason for worry or you see with your own eyes that your marriage is in a bad place or that the children are not thriving—but trusting the Lord and walking with Him is always the most important, situation-changing thing you can be doing. So do it now, and do it by faith. Do it like all the Christians before you who were not afraid of death either.

Heavenly Father, this week we come before You, asking that You would strengthen our faith by giving us opportunities to walk gladly in it. We know that You are making us fit for the realer and truer and more glorious life that awaits us, and we thank You for the gift of Your Spirit who equips us to be bold. Bless our walking with You this week. In Jesus Name, amen.

Rachel Jankovic