Have you ever been encouraged by someone to pursue something you could not see—something you didn’t know could become a reality? A new career, freedom from addiction, relational reconciliation, a personal goal? One moment you never thought it possible, then next a glimmer of light—hope. Once envisioned, you set your sights on pursuing it—on your own or with another’s help.
Life is filled with obstacles and surprises, always promising to catch our attention in varying degrees. Sometimes we give them our full focus and attention, other times we take notice and quickly shift our focus back to its rightful place.
The Apostle Paul’s words to the church in Corinth are helpful for us. We are to “…walk by faith, not by sight…” (2 Cor. 5:7), a reminder that we are not at home in this body or in the world. Home for the Christian is to be covered in our glorified body in heaven one day, a promise from God of a coming reality (2 Cor. 5:1-5).
Everyone faces hardship. Mark it down. Expect it. Even welcome it! Hardship does not mean God has forgotten you, or that God’s against you, though at times, God uses hardship to bring judgment or loving discipline and training (Psalm 94:12; Prov 3:11-12; Heb. 12:3-11). We live in a fallen world. Whether it is sickness, loss of a job, broken relationships, financial struggles, difficulties in your church, or political quandaries, everyone knows this is not how we were created to live.
The uncomfortable reality is that we are to get comfortable with trials, knowing that our groaning is good and reveals a longing to be made complete when we are at home with the Lord. When we long for what we cannot see, we choose whether to let our longings become complaining or to live courageously by believing God’s promises in the Bible and walk by faith.
What trials have captured your attention? Are you discouraged as you encounter your trials? What is your goal as you interact with those who see, or are part of your trials? Do your goals align with God’s as revealed in the Bible?
Make it your aim to please the Lord by walking in biblical faith. Start by admitting to the Lord that your sin has broken your relationship with God, who is holy, and believing Jesus paid the full penalty for your sin by dying on the cross, and receiving his free gift of kindness to live in a relationship fueled by and filled with faith in God’s goodness.
Then you’ll have courage from God to live by faith, longing for what you cannot see, as you welcome trials with thankfulness to God. Your trials will usher in opportunities to serve others as a representative of Christ—showing the good news of the Gospel through your actions and words! And nothing, friends, on this side of Heaven, could be greater!
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