Living By Faith, Not By Sight

There is an interesting battle in our family car now our kids are on the threshold of being teenagers - the battle between my favourite easy listening radio station and their iPods music playlist!  Much to the delight of us all, relative peace has returned to the car with a mutual love of the band "He is We."  Quoting their Wikipedia page, "He is We is an indie pop band from Tacoma, Washington.  The band originally was made up of Trevor Kelly and Rachel Taylor as the lead vocalist."

While I have no knowledge of their faith perspective, or the background to their song "Tell Me," I find myself connecting with the lyrics of the refrain:

Tell me, “Don’t give up!”
Tell me, “There’s someone out there!”
Give me a pure love
Give me a forever that we both can share

Show me it's okay,
Show me it's all right,
That I'm far from crazy for living by faith, not by sight

As a person of faith I am often stepping out into the unknown pursuing a strategy for a future that is neither seen nor understood by those who don't share the same vision.  There are times when living by faith leaves me with a sense of vulnerability where I wrestle with my own doubt, let alone the doubt of others who think I'm a little crazy.  When I have experienced ridicule and opposition for living by faith, I have looked to God and like minded people to "Tell me, 'Don't give up!'" and "Show me it's okay...it's all right."

The Scripture reminds me that "faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).  Yet, rather than inferring that faith is a blind journey of chance, the confidence and certainty that comes through "living by faith, not by sight" is found in the knowledge that the Object of my faith sees what I do not see.  I believe in a God who is outside of time and space and calls me to step out in faith towards a future that has already been planned for me.  While that future may still be full of uncertainty, it is a vision of what could be and should be and "I'm far from crazy" exercising faith in a preferred reality that reflects God's purpose for His creation.