Characteristics of Faith, Pt. 2
For the past two weeks, I’ve been discussing the characteristics of faith. Last week, I shared how Faith Hears. Today, I want to talk about how Faith Sees.
I discuss in detail these characteristics of faith in my book Our Eyes are On You: Principles to Prevail in Faith & Prayer, available on Amazon.
Faith Sees
Paul makes a simple yet profound statement about faith to the Corinthians.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7 NKJV
True faith always “sees” through God’s eyes and His perspective. Our perspective, apart from the faith of God, is limited in clarity.
I’m nearsighted. Without my glasses, my distance vision is quite blurry. I require glasses to correct my distance vision. Faith is much like this. When we live and walk by faith, we can see into the distance or future beyond what is available through our senses and human reasoning.
In Genesis, we read about Abraham’s journey of faith as he obeyed God by leaving his homeland and family behind. If you recall the story in Genesis 12, it wasn’t easy. Eventually, Abraham separates from his nephew Lot, and then God reveals Abraham’s future inheritance. He glimpsed it in the natural, but he needed to perceive the promise with eyes of faith to receive what God was offering.
“14 After Lot separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “From the place where you are standing, look up and gaze to the north, south, east, and west, 15 because all the land that you see I give you and your descendants forever.” Gen. 13:14-15 CEB
Abram’s nephew Lot took the ‘best’ land. However, God showed Abram (later named Abraham by God) the land of promise. Lot couldn’t see it, and until God revealed it to Abraham, he couldn’t see it either. But once God revealed the land to Abraham, he could “see by faith” what God was offering. Faith was then imparted, and Abraham could act on what was revealed to him.
Have you ever visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona? If you haven’t, I encourage you to make the trip; it is a natural wonder to behold. If you have visited, you experienced something beautiful and breathtaking. You witnessed the vastness of this magnificent canyon with its vibrant colors and imagery that pictures or videos can’t fully capture.
Consider for a moment what you observed as you stood there, overlooking the canyon. How did the objects appear in the distance? What sensations did you feel while gazing into the canyon? The vastness of the canyon influences one’s senses and shapes their perspective on God’s creation.
Now, take a moment to consider faith. Did it ever occur to you that faith has the ability to see? Faith looks into the distance, beyond the vastness of the ‘canyons’ before us, to grasp the promises of God. The eyes of faith perceive the enormity of what God is revealing and offering to us and believe that all things are possible with God!
In fact, I believe that for some of you reading this, God is offering you something and inviting you into an experience that lies just beyond the ‘canyon’ in front of you—but it takes faith to cross it and receive the inheritance of the promise.
However, sometimes our vision is too narrow or distorted. People often “see” themselves through the hurts or disappointments in their hearts. Hurts, offenses, judgments, failures, and disappointments rob us of “seeing” clearly what God is revealing. They deprive us of the faith that sees and then receives God’s promise.
Do you remember the story of the apostle Thomas, also known as “Doubting Thomas”? Thomas, like many of us, needed to see in order to believe.
Jesus had risen from the dead and began to appear in His glorified body to some of the disciples (John 20). They told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord!” But Thomas responded, “Unless I see his nail scares and can touch him, I will not believe he is risen from the dead.” (John 20:25 CEB)
After eight anxious and agonizing days for Thomas (doubt creates anxiety and negativity—it is fear-based instead of faith-based), Jesus appeared to him and the other disciples. The first thing Jesus said to the group was, “Peace to you.”
Proclaiming peace for those who struggle with doubt, worry, and fear establishes a foundation for faith to grow. Furthermore, worry is described as thinking about future events in a way that leaves you feeling anxious or apprehensive.
According to Dr. Charles Mayo, worry affects circulation, the heart and glands, the nervous system, and significantly influences health. Worry and fear are detrimental not only to our emotions but also to our physical well-being.
Twentieth-century church leader Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.” Worry and fear are interconnected and can hinder faith in God’s promises.
Mark Twain said about worry, “My life has been full of terrible misfortune most of which never happened!” I love Twain’s wit and humor! It’s so true; many people live in a swirl of thoughts and emotions about terrible misfortunes or forebodings (fear of what is to come), and those misfortunes often never occur.
Worry is spending time and energy on something you may never possess!
Worry is worthless currency, but faith is invaluable gold!
Paul declared,
“6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7 NLT
Paul’s admonition can be broken down into a couple of simple parts: don’t worry, instead pray and thank God for the answer! Then His peace permeates our hearts. Prayer connects us with God, faith begins to build for the answer, and God releases His “positivity” into our hearts that is greater than worry and fear.
Returning to our story in John 20 about Thomas, Jesus then said to Thomas,
“Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!” Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” and Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.” John 20:27-29 CEB
Thomas saw; therefore, he believed. But Jesus exhorts His followers to believe first; then they will see.
Jesus explains that we are blessed or “happy” when we believe, even though we do not see Him or fully realize His promises. As Paul said, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” Faith sees beyond the natural and believes in what God has promised!
As a follower of Jesus, this should be your position. You may never see Jesus, but you believe His Word and the testimony of others. You know He is alive through your faith and by the Holy Spirit living in you.
Experiencing your new birth in Christ empowers you through the Holy Spirit to have eyes of faith. These are not just metaphorical eyes; rather, God grants us the capacity to receive revelation and to perceive unseen spiritual realms.
Paul writes in Ephesians,
“17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” Eph. 1:17-18 NIV
Paul prayed for believers to possess a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and for the eyes of our hearts to be opened to who Christ is and what He has done for us. A glorious inheritance in Him!
Have you ever considered that your heart has eyes? When Paul refers to your heart, he means the center of your spiritual being that knows and relates to God. Through faith in Christ, you have been given spiritual eyes to see—you now have the capacity to know Jesus intimately and understand revelation from God.
What you experience with your natural senses is real, but the unseen spiritual world around you is just as real; in fact, it’s even more eternal. What you perceive with the eyes of your heart should be as real to you as what you see with your natural eyes.
The ancient prophets were often called seers, as they could “see” prophetically into what God was revealing. This practice of seeing or hearing what God reveals is still accessible today to those who have trained their spiritual senses to understand the language of the Holy Spirit.
I have discovered that God often communicates through impressions, thoughts, pictures, and visions. Tuning your spirit to the “language of the Spirit” and valuing the impressions you receive is essential for developing your ability to see. Learning how God communicates with you is important—it is a practice that evolves over time as you walk with God. Faith works by receiving what God is conveying (apprehending what is revealed by God) and being confident that it will come to pass.
The apostle Paul was guided daily by the Holy Spirit, and visionary encounters were part of how the Holy Spirit communicated with him. He received what the Bible refers to as a “vision in the night” of a man from Macedonia asking him and his team to come and help them (Acts 16:6-10).
On two previous occasions, the Holy Spirit prevented Paul and his team from entering other regions. The vision allowed Paul to understand what God was communicating, which strengthened his belief in God’s direction. After receiving the vision from God, his faith grew; based on this revelation, he felt confident about what the Lord intended for him to do.
Understand that, while you may never see Jesus, you believe, and with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, you now have the capacity to see and believe!
I once heard this statement, “If you can see it, you can have it.” I have found this to be true regarding God’s revealed will.
Visualization is powerful, and God often bestows a gift of faith through what is revealed to you. Once you see or perceive what God wants you to understand, your faith will soar, and the realization of the desired outcome is likely.
Real faith is rooted in your new life in Christ and your union with Him through the Holy Spirit, which empowers you to approach God with confidence and boldness, asking in faith for the very things you need (Heb. 4:16). A faith-filled vision perceives Christ and understands who He is and where He is now.
Your prophetic vision of Christ will unlock all other visions, for He is the author of your faith. It deepens your understanding of your identity in Him as you are anchored in your union with Christ, united with Him in His victory and glory.
Seeing Him as He is allows you to be transformed into His image through understanding, as a follower who shares in His new life and nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Your revelatory experience in Christ empowers you to live by the words He gives you. Vision captivates, empowers, and drives you to action.
The Spirit of Christ illuminates the hearts of all. However, countless individuals remain unaware of His presence surrounding them – they are unable to “see.”
These people lack perception. You can’t behold what you don’t see. Fear shuts down what is inches away in the Spirit, and the promise becomes a billion miles away! But faith corrects our “vision,” and God’s promise comes into proper focus.
Last Thoughts
Maybe you are like Thomas. Jesus invites you to believe, and then you will see!
Or perhaps your vision has become dim. The bright promise and hope you once had have faded. The Lord wants to lift you above life’s circumstances so that you can see with the eyes of faith again.
Lastly, perhaps doubt, worry, and fear are robbing you of the vital faith needed to move forward. God wants to remove these barriers as you completely yield to Him. Faith believes, sees, and moves forward to receive what God has promised!
