Faith vs. Sight

Bill Bright

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory” (Romans 5:2).

Faith is essential to the Christian life. But until we realize our faith is in the God who never changes, we will tend to walk by sight.

All of us have natural, everyday faith. This is the faith we exhibit in the ordinary things we do. When we sip a glass of water, we trust that it is pure. When we board an airplane, we have faith that the builders, the air traffic controllers, and the pilot know what they are doing. This type of faith comes from our senses. If the water looks odd or smells funny, we do not drink it. If the pilot reeks of alcohol, we do not board the plane.

But spiritual faith does not depend on our senses. It is based on God's consistent and trustworthy character. As George Mueller, 19th century British social reformer, explained, "Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends."

Although our circumstances may appear hopeless and our feelings may tell us to give up, we must not allow ourselves to be limited by the visible world. Instead, we should place our trust in the God who never changes.

Yet many times our faith extends only as far as we can see. An African impala antelope can jump higher than ten feet and a distance of more than thirty feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure behind a three-foot wall. The reason? The antelope will not jump if it cannot see where its feet will fall. The impala's dependency on its senses robs it of its freedom.

We, also, are often limited by our need to see before we will believe. Instead, we must improve our spiritual vision so that the walls of fear and doubt cannot doom us to a life of spiritual mediocrity.

Your View of God Really Matters ...

If you really believed that God never changes, how would that affect the way you trust Him for the things you cannot see, or the circumstances you don't understand?


Because God never changes,
My future is secure and eternal.


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Bright Media Foundation is an affiliate of Cru.

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