HOW I AM LEARNING TO WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT

When we say “walk by faith, not by sight,” what do we mean, and how do we do it? As I approach the beginning of a new year, I feel much like someone gazing in the abyss with no safe or easy way to get to the other side. Taking a leap of faith is what I am asking God to help me do.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT?

I know I may be dating myself here, but I grew up with the Indiana Jones movies, and I loved them. When my husband and I were newly married (over thirty years ago!), McDonald’s ran a promotion where you could purchase all three videos (VHS) for a special price, and we both thought we hit the jackpot! Yes, the Indy movies provided much entertainment for a young couple on a tight budget but looking back now, we learned some good things from those movies.

One of my all-time favorite scenes is in The Last Crusade, where Indy’s quest for the Holy Grail takes on a much more serious tone as he must find it in hopes of saving his father, who has been fatally wounded. Of course, there are three tests he must pass in his quest. And the third one is the toughest. To reach the chamber that holds the grail, Indy must cross a 30-foot cavern with no obvious way to get to the other side. Yes, he is Indiana Jones, but this feat seems impossible. Following the instructions from his father’s diary, he must take a step of faith. There is no bridge (at least no visible one), so he must go against all of his rational and intellectual reasoning and step into the void. He says “leap of faith” with a shaky whisper and tentatively puts out his foot. After the first step, his foot lands on solid ground to his astonishment. A bridge did exist after all, but its rocky texture matched the facing wall of the cavern so perfectly that it was invisible from his perspective. Watch this powerful scene:

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT WALKING BY FAITH?

As I approach the new year, I feel much like Indiana Jones trying to cross an impossible cavern. It would be scary enough even if I did see the bridge, but how can I possibly take a step into the void? And I wonder if that is what the Bible means when it tells us to walk by faith and not by sight.

FAITH AND SIGHT

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)

We need to study this well-known and often used verse in context to appreciate its meaning entirely. The theme of Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth is the relationship between suffering and the power of the Spirit in Paul’s life and ministry. This helpful commentary from BibleRef explains further:

Preaching the truth of Christ to the world has brought Paul and his co-workers much suffering. Yet they continue to strive and contend for the faith. They refuse to quit—they live with courage—because they are convinced that after they die, they will be resurrected as Christ was. They will receive glorified, eternal bodies where they will finally be free of all burdens and the groaning experienced by every living thing on earth.

As Paul sums it up in this verse, they walk—here meaning to live or make a habit—by faith and not by sight. In other words, they so thoroughly believe the gospel, including their own resurrection and eternal satisfaction, that the struggles facing them are not the most important concern. What they “see” includes death, pain, suffering, opposition and challenge. They feel the burden of those things deeply (1 Corinthians 1:8), but they count the unseen things waiting for them with Christ as more real than the suffering of the moment (2 Corinthians 4:18).”

BibleRef

FAITH AND SUFFERING

As I study further, the connection between faith and suffering strikes me. Fear forces us to focus on our circumstances: the pain, the challenges, the opposition. Faith, as described in Bible, embraces the struggle, believing that eternity with Christ is worth it.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.“

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

There it is again: “we look not to things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” Another reminder to walk by faith and not by sight! The things I see in this world distract and discourage me, causing me to doubt. When we see or experience suffering, it can shake our faith. But the Bible is honest about this and never promises that having faith in God means we are exempt from the trials of this world. What He does promise is that suffering can refine and strengthen our faith.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.“

1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)

FAITH AND DOUBT

The opposite of faith is not doubt. Let me repeat that for emphasis:

The opposite of faith is not doubt.

The real enemy of faith is unbelief. We can still believe and have doubts. When we look at many of the heroes of the faith, most of them had doubts.

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible about faith is in Hebrews 11. I encourage you to read it for yourself as soon as you can. But read it slowly because there is so much we can miss! This chapter may be familiar to many of you as the Heroes of Faith chapter or the Hall of Fame of Faith—and that is true—but after rereading these verses in preparation for this post, I noticed that it is also a list of doubters! At least half of the ‘heroes of faith‘ mentioned in that chapter had times where they questioned God’s timing, doubted His purposes, and hesitated to walk in faith. And they were not alone. Even those who walked alongside Jesus were prone to doubt.

• Abraham lied about being married to Sarah because he did not trust God to protect him.
• Sarah laughed when she heard that God promised her a child in her old age.
• Moses was too scared to go and speak before Pharaoh.
• Gideon asked for three miraculous signs before he would obey the Lord’s calling.
• Elijah was so fearful for life that he ran into the desert and asked God to take his life.
• John the Baptist, awaiting execution in prison, wondered if Jesus was the One.
• Peter vehemently denied three times that he knew and followed Jesus.
• And then, there was “doubting Thomas” who questioned the resurrected Jesus.

Although these people went through periods of doubt, we still call them “heroes of faith.”

Why?

Because they were able to walk in faith even after doubting, yes, they took the proverbial “leap of faith” despite their questions and doubts. And often, it was not a leap but a very tiny, hesitant step.

And we find the most commendable thing about each one of these faithful servants at the end of the chapter:

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised…” (ESV)

Hebrews 11:39 (ESV)

Whoa! It is easy to overlook that very simple, but crucial piece of information. It is not how they started, but how they finished. They were looking forward to the promise of the Messiah, the Christ, the Sacrifice, the One—but never saw it fulfilled.  

And they still believed.  

They embodied the true definition of walking by faith: being certain of things hoped for and assured of things not seen despite their doubts. These ordinary people took a step into the void and found solid ground.

HOW MUCH FAITH DO WE NEED?

Often, I pray for the kind of monumental faith that would allow me to leap over deep caverns, move mountains, and walk on water, but the Bible teaches that we only need faith the size of a mustard seed. Do you know how tiny a mustard seed is?

Using the mustard seed as an illustration to describe faith, Jesus shows us that the faith that we must have has more to do with what kind of faith we demonstrate rather than how much faith we possess. Even if we place a minuscule amount of faith (the size of a 1-2 millimeter mustard seed) in our all-powerful God, amazing things can happen.

It is not the quantity of our faith, the strength of our convictions, or the lack of our doubts that has the power—it is the object of our faith.

The eye cannot see itself. Did you ever see your own eye? In a mirror you may have done so, but that was only a reflection of it. And you may, in like manner, see the evidence of your faith, but you cannot look at the faith itself. Faith looks away to itself to the object of faith, even to Christ.”

Charles Spurgeon

It is comforting to know that biblical faith has nothing to do with my effort, strength, wisdom, or fearlessness. That all comes from God. Amen!

HOW DO WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT?

So, how do we practically walk by faith and not by sight? How do we let go of the distractions, discouragement, and doubts to overcome our fears of stepping into the unknown?

As I mentioned earlier, fear focuses on circumstances while faith focuses on God.

Sometimes I make it far too complicated. Read these wise words from Joni Erickson Tada:

“Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far in the misty future. It’s simply taking God at His word and taking the next step.”

Here are three faith-filled steps we can take as we choose faith over fear.

FIX OUR FOCUS ON JESUS

After discussing the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, the writer goes on to tell us how to embrace this kind of faith:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith…”

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

These verses refer to Jesus as the “author and perfecter” of our faith in other Bible translations. This word in Greek translates as “finisher” or “completer.” We already noted that the heroes of the faith were imperfect, and although their lives can inspire us, faith was not perfected in them. Only in Jesus can we understand perfect faith, and that is why we are to fix and focus on Him alone.

FEED OUR SOULS WITH GOD’S WORD

Whether we admit it or not, we place our faith in many things that can never truly sustain us: relationships, success, financial security, good works, material possessions, and effort. We miss the benefits of true faith when we do not look to God to feed the deepest longings of our souls. To grow our faith, we need to fill our souls with truth from God’s Word continually by seeking Him first in all things.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.“

Matthew 6: 35-33 (ESV)

FIND REST AND PEACE IN GOD ALONE

The Bible does not mislead us by telling us that faith in God will remove trials, temptations, and suffering from our lives. They will come, so we need to make sure that we anchor our faith in God alone when they do. Our faith will falter when we trust our human understanding and experience. Only when we place our entire trust in God alone will we find the courage to walk by faith and not by sight.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8 (NIV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

FAVORITE QUOTES ON WALKING BY FAITH (FREE PRINTABLE)

Click to download and print these favorite quotes on walking by faith.

MORE RESOURCES TO LEARN HOW TO WALK BY FAITH

While I wish I could tell you that I regularly choose to walk by faith, not by sight, that would not be true. My doubts, fears, and insecurities often keep me from taking that step of faith. I want to see, know, and control before I trust. However, I desperately desire that kind of faith…and now realize I only need a mustard seed because the One in whom I place my faith is so much bigger.

So if you are looking for a place to be both encouraged and challenged to take that leap of faith, would you consider joining me here, AT THE CROSSROADS? If you put your hand in mine, we can step into the unknown together! Sign up by filling out the form below, and you will receive weekly blog posts, monthly newsletters, free faith resources, and more!

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