Why is faith difficult? Why are there so many life lessons concerning faith? That’s what this series will explore. To go further, let me challenge you to do an image search. Type ‘faith’ in your internet search box then click images. What do you get? You may see this image. Is this image, and/or ones like it, an accurate representation of faith?
Life Lessons: Faith & the Unseen
The image in question is not an accurate representation of faith. That fact is why I used it to create the image on the right. This is the picture I used for the first post in this series. So what’s wrong with this type of image? It’s important to answer this question in order to publish the next post in this series!
The problem with the image is the rock on the right side. That’s why I covered it up with the orange blob and the faith question. Per Scripture and previous discussion, faith must address elements unknown to you/me. The picture is about as accurate as we can make it. Why? We have no ability to draw an invisible landing place for the jumper. A truly accurate image of faith would be blank on the right side. OK, not blank but something not visible to our eyes!
Life Lessons: Acting on the Unseen
Faith’s first requirement is being absolutely certain I have heard from God. We can be sure through His Word, or prayer, or that still, small voice. But however He chooses to speak, He says His sheep know His voice. A pastor friend of mine often said too many church members couldn’t tell the difference between God’s voice and indigestion! But I am off track… 🙂
When we know-that-we-know we have heard from the Lord, then we must act (exercise faith) on that revelation. It will look a little bit like the image to the right. But this image also has a flaw. Do you see it? That’s the flaw! We want our faith journey to look exactly like this picture, but it never does.
Our faith journey will in fact look like that staircase. We are pressing onward and upward. Everything is going fine. Then we reach that last step on the left and the only thing before us is a hole and a step we cannot possibly reach on our own. What do we do? How do we proceed?
That last step on the left side is where one or all of several things will happen. When we reach that point, we:
- Pray
- Study the Word
- Seek Godly Advice
- Listen for God to Speak
Our circumstances will vary, but the crisis of belief we experience on that step is real. When do we move on? When we are absolutely certain God has said,
Keep climbing. I’ve got this!
For Peter, it was the moment he got out of the boat and walked on the water. For Abraham, it was the 
moment he left his homeland for the land God promised to show him. For Gideon, it was when God reduced Gideon’s army to 300 men so there would be no doubt the battle was the Lord’s. In each case, there was certainty about God’s instructions. And in each case God was faithful!
O yeah! There’s one more thing. God’s hand was there for the events above. But nobody could see it! That’s the problem with the picture. God’s hand is real, but not seen by us. Figuratively, you may be looking into ‘space’ where a step is supposed to be. Trust the One Who promises to do more than you can ask or imagine!
Soli Deo Gloria!