2 Corinthians 5: 7
As my wife Sara and I recently flew on a mid-size passenger jet starting its descent into Amsterdam, the plane entered an extensive cloud bank. The pilot warned of turbulence, and he wasn't kidding. It was a bumpy ride.
Worse, from my perspective, the clouds were so thick that you could hardly see anything. It made me briefly wonder how pilots fly to their destinations when they can't see.
Of course, the simple answer is that pilots use instruments other than sight. They can determine their direction, speed, altitude, and destination even when they can't see anything out the front windshield. They trust what their instruments are telling them. Pilots trust the instruments because they rely on the knowledge and experience of others who have flown before them, and because they have grown comfortable through practice with their flight instruments.
This reminds me of our Christian 7-day practical faith walk and this verse from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5: 7.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
We trust faith instruments that give us our direction: Scripture. Prayer. Contemplation of God's creation. Studies of Christian wisdom and experience in books and videos. Through the advice and insight of others. Through the guidance of our sacred companion, the Holy Spirit. Put another way, like pilots, we rely on the knowledge and experience of other disciples who have gone before us, and we become more comfortable with these instruments as we practice with them.
Some say that they won't believe in a God they can't see. Yet we humans all find we must trust instruments other than our vision as we go through life, such as on the descent into Amsterdam. Similarly, there are other ways to perceive God than through sight.
Let us practice, use, and trust our faith instruments to sense the presence and will of God.
I'm in Da Willhouse! That's the podcast hosted by Keidrick Elijah. I guest on his latest podcast as we discuss how to live a 7-day practical faith and the role of perseverance in our faith walk. Please check it out at https://youtu.be/8N2uS-RgA90 .
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