We walk by faith, not by sight.

John 4:43-54 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And after the two days, He departed from there for Galilee. ⁴⁴ For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. ⁴⁵ So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, only because they had seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.

⁴⁶ Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷ When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” ⁴⁹ The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. ⁵¹ And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. ⁵² So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” ⁵³ So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household. ⁵⁴ This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come from Judea into Galilee.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says:   We walk by faith, not by sight.  What does that mean? What does walking by faith look like?   In today’s text it says:  He came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.” The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. And as he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was alive. So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son is alive”; and he himself believed, and his entire household.  God’s word is filled with His promises for our every need. Will we, like the father in today’s text, walk in the promise of what is said, even before seeing the results? Will we believe His word, even if the circumstances don’t currently line up?

In the text it is revealed that the boy was healed when Jesus spoke. It was then, in truth not the faith of the father, but the word of Jesus, which caused the boy to be healed. It is not the amount of our faith which will determine the outcome of the situations and circumstances we face, but rather it is God’s word, what He has said, and His faithfulness to His word. In Isaiah 55:11 God says:  So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.  Why is it then that we do not always see the results that we ask and believe for?   Here’s the thing, on the cross, in John 19:30 Jesus said:  “It is finished!”  Everything that He came to accomplish is fully provided for through His sacrifice on the cross. Isaiah 53:5 says:  He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. Our forgiveness, our healing and our well-being was fully provided and finished in the cross.  Jesus taught us to pray saying:  Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  What Jesus provided, all the promises of God for our redemption, healing and well-being are already complete in heaven. When we get to heaven there will be no sin, no sickness, chaos or confusion. To walk by faith though, means that we believe for those things here and now. We pray that the realities of heaven will be manifested here on earth.

How do we walk by faith and not by sight? How do we believe against the evidence we see and experience?  Hebrews 4:15-16 says:  We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.  We have been given the grace and the ability to enter into the heavenly realm, to see and experience what is known in heaven; help for our every need. It’s not enough though that we just visit there from time to time. It’s not enough that we just go there in prayer. David, the psalmist, experienced many difficulties throughout his life. In Psalm 37 he encourages us how to walk by faith saying:  Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring out your righteousness as the light, And your judgment as the noonday.  We need to live in the presence of God; to delight in Him. We need to trust in Him and in His word. Then, even if for this time, our circumstances and our situations don’t change, we will change. God will give us the desires of our heart. Our hearts will become aligned with Him.

In Psalm 23, the psalmist says:  The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever.  Amen. Help me Lord, to walk by faith and not by sight as I trust in Your faithfulness to accomplish Your will, in heaven and on earth. Amen.