"Journeying Onward to Change by Faith or Sight"

Attempting to live out our faith in the strength of our own resources has the disadvantage of blocking our view of the spiritual.  How easy we find it to walk by sight (understanding, our own human enlightenment) and not by faith and yet Paul under the direction of the Holy Spirit challenges that notion when he writes the following.

2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight --NASU

 Most certainly this is but a small part of a greater thought.  However, as with many things in Christian faith, the small and simple are profound and broad in impact.  The point is that we, like those believers of that day  in the Church(s) in the City of Corinth along with Paul were challenged by God to walk not in their human understanding of this thing we call Christianity but by faith.

In comparison to faith, how easy it is to walk through life moving here and there based upon feelings.  In comparison to faith, and though more difficult than feelings, how easy it is to walk through life based upon what we know.  Or, again compared to faith, how difficult it is to live out life in the strength of one's will.  The degree to which we live out our lives based upon these things, is the degree to which living out lives out in faith pays the price.

In other words, when called upon to follow some course of action or another which makes no sense, and if we rely upon our understanding, our feelings, or our will to take action, it very often is at the expense of a decision made out of faith.  Walking by faith in the uncertainties of life is God's design for the one who would follow Him.

However, that is not God's plan for the Christian.  Remember that,

Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Though often quite difficult, it still remains the task of the Christian to step out in faith.  It seems then that the hope and conviction to which this verse refers is a much deeper hope and conviction than something one's conjures up out of one's will, belief, or feeling.  These are spirit level activities that come only as the Holy Spirit of God move within the human spirit and create these things in the face of what seems possible.

Finally, all live by faith of some sort.  The question to consider at this juncture is just what is worthy of your faith.  In particular one does well to not place his faith in those things that are temporary--things that will pass away.  For example, there are those who place their faith in governments, yet one does not look far to see that governmental power corrupts (e.g. the disparity between the benefits that the Congress has voted for themselves and what they have voted for the military, other government workers, etc.).

Then too consider the governments one finds across the world where corruption and graft are a way of life.  How deep the disappointment must be for those who place their trust in government.  However, there will come a day that there will be only one government--that presided over by the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Indeed His rule will be fair and just.

We also find people place their faith in movements such a the climate movement, environmental-green movement, equal rights movements, etc.  Though some of have produced change, such change is neither genuine nor is it deep.  There is one exception that is found throughout the history of the world.  It is spiritual revival.  Over and over, culture to culture, and people to people when the social movement is occasioned by spiritual revival (e.g. Billy Sunday, D.L Moody, Charles Spurgeon, etc) there is genuine deep and lasting changes.

Again it all comes back to the question of where I place my faith.  A faith that comes from hearing and that hearing which comes is in conformity to what God's Word says (Romans 10:17)