Devotion 3 – Faith is not Blindness & Foolishness
2 Cor.5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
The dictionaries define “faith” as a “belief that is not based on proof” or an “unreasoned belief”. So, is faith by definition “blind”? If no, what is the difference between “biblical faith” and “blind faith”?
The difference between biblical faith and blind faith is simple. Biblical faith is believing in the Word of God even though the evidence of it is not yet seen. Blind faith is believing in something without any ground of evidence, or even conflicting evidence which is against our reasoning. Thus, if our faith is not justified by the Word of God, we are exercising “blind faith”.
The above verse is not encouraging us to walk blindly by faith, but rather, to be mindful of the promises of God in His Word and to be conscious that this world is not our home; we have an ultimate destiny in heaven. Paul is encouraging us not be discouraged by the disappointments, pain, trials and tribulation we suffer while on this earth.
2 Cor. 4:7-10 – “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
In this passage, Paul writes about being “hard-pressed on every side’, being “perplexed”, being “persecuted” and about being “struck down”. And again, he continues in chapter 5, about groaning and being burdened in the earthly body.
2 Cor.5:1-6 – “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So, we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.”
Thus, when Paul instructs against “walking by sight”, he is encouraging us to courageously walk by faith without any tangible evidence, and not to base our faith on our physical experiences in this world. For if we walk by sight, we can easily be crushed, feel forsaken and even driven to despair. Paul is reminding us to adopt another way of living – by faith. By faith, we have the assurance of the resurrection and we know that God has prepared a new body for us eternally.
By faith, we know that when this earthly body is gone, God has prepared a new body for us which is far better; rather than just a “tent”, it will be a house eternal in the heavens. He has given us “the Spirit as a guarantee”. God sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts as a deposit, as a pledge, as a down payment, to assure us of His commitment to our full redemption and transformation. Suffering and death in this life cannot change what God has prepared for us in the next life.
Walking by Faith
In the light of this understanding, walking by faith is walking with eternity in mind. By faith, we are mindful and thus empowered not to ‘lost heart’ in spite of the trials we go through. We find courage to endure all the sufferings of this earthly life.
2 Cor.4:16-18 – “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
By faith, we have a new kind of sight, with the “eye of our heart” (Eph.1:18), we see the invisible rather than just the visible with the eyes of our head.
Faith that is not grounded in the Word of God is not saving faith or kingdom faith. If we operate in faith outside the boundaries of God’s Word, that is merely belief. Sadly, many children of God has mistaken belief with faith, this is presumptuous faith or “blind faith”. Faith includes confidence but confidence does not necessary includes faith. Faith is like a light bulb; it has no power in itself. The light bulb only shines when connected with the power source. Likewise, our faith is useless if it is not connected to the word of God. So, do not merely place faith in “our faith”.
Faith Is Taking God at His Word
Matt.24:35 – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
1 Pet.1:24-25 – “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Everything in life may change, but God’s Word remains constant, His truth never changes. This means that no matter how we feel or experience, we can choose to depend on the Word of God as the unchanging reality of our life.
In our journey on this earth, there are be time we felt afraid or lonely or depressed. Our heart may ache in anguish over circumstances of life, and in those moments, we may be most tempted to doubt the truth of God’s Word. It is in those moments that we must not walk by sight but by faith. We may feel, and the feeling is so real…but always remember, His Word says…