Not By What We See...

Feelings and emotions are deceiving. What we see isn’t always what it seems or what is real. Like the pilot who flies by what he sees out his window rather than guided by the plane’s instruments loses his bearings; Christians who live by what they see rather than by faith, lose their footing.

Those who live by faith don’t live by the way they feel…they live by the Word revealed. That is where God shows Himself to us. That’s how He communicates His message of hope, love and faith to us. Not that we would ever figure out the enormity of God in its entirety while still clothed with our earthly robes, but as much as God Himself planned to let Himself be known is all contained in His Word. And His precious Word is more than just letters put together. His Word is Our Savior,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1: 1-5

Therefore, staying close to His Word is staying close to Jesus. When we hold His Word in our Hands is nothing less than a visit with Christ, a close encounter with the Living God, the Creator and Sustainer of life. We are not just reading a good story or wise teaching; we are hearing His voice speaking to us in a most personal way. It is no wonder, then how we can read a passage we are very familiar with, and find something completely new and fresh in it when we read it again.

Allowing ourselves to spend time in the Word is hanging out with the only friend who would always be there. It is listening to His message tailored to us personally. It is walking on the path to sanctification by the hand of our Savior. It is walking by the compass that would never get us lost. It is a refocusing tool that keeps our eyes off the frightening winds and waves and onto the very eyes of Jesus. It is the only way to let go of the way we feel, of our fears, of our worldly sense of reality and adopt a new perspective, one that is eternal.

Following the truth revealed in the Word is the only way to walk sure-footed on the steep hills, dark valleys and shaky grounds of this world.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1: 17