See the unseen

Remember that time when God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” and early the next morning Abraham got up, saddled his donkey, and was overheard muttering, “Aww, heck no.” before riding off towards a lonely mountain with his son, never to be seen again.

You don’t remember that? Hmm. Well, how about that time when God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.” and Noah replied, “Heeaavy dude! Do I like, have to?”

You’re not sure about that one? Oh. Well, remember that time when Moses accepted hanging out in Egypt until a ripe old age, enjoying the riches of the country, while the people of God supported his most epic building projects?

No? Well surely you won’t have forgotten when the people decided against marching around the city of Jericho for a week, and the walls of the city stayed exactly where they were, because that’s what walls do best. Walls really are amazing how they do that.

But, let me let you in on a little secret, and it’s not even about walls. I’ve been making up these versions of what actually happened. In fact, I’m just writing my silly versions of what might have happened if there was no faith involved.

In Hebrews 11, there’s a awesome little section about faith. Most Christians know about it, and it’s often quoted whenever there’s a difficult situation in life. The writer of Hebrews has a lot to say on the topic, but tells us, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”, going on to say, “This is what the ancients were commended for.”  

The writer of Hebrews also tells us, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” I’ve always loved that imagery, as if they were waving over a hazy image of some people on the horizon of a sun drenched desert. What they saw instead were God’s promises.

I recommend Hebrews 11, and 12. It’s worth a read, even after you’re done reading this. There’s some really great encouragement there and many more examples - I think not just for difficult life situations, but to help us respond to God’s call on our lives. As God speaks and we respond, we can use eyes of faith to wave on over the unseen, made known by Him who can see it all. Abraham didn’t run away. Noah didn’t question building a boat. Moses left Egypt for a greater reward than its riches. Those walls of Jericho fell.