Walking By Faith, 2 Corinthians 5:7

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

     What does it mean to "walk by faith and not by sight"? The Lord has been teaching me what it truly means to walk by faith, not to walk by sight, during this season of my life. Things are unclear, foggy, and unknown. There are so many things I could assume by looking around, yet none of them seem to be so. And previously the Lord has taught me that things are not always as they appear (see my studies in Luke), and that we can't look around, stand back, and make an evaluation of our circumstances. This is exaclty what walking by faith isn't!

     For me, to learn to walk by faith and not by sight is going to be a long and ongoing process. I don't know if I will ever really reach the end where I am finally perfected in this matter until that day when I see Him face to face (for when we see Him, we will be like Him). It is going to take a lot of training on the Lord's part, and I'm thinking that He is going to take me through lots of trials where I just haven't got a clue in order to really ingrain this into my heart.
     I'm the sort of person who likes to deduce things logically, looking at all of my circumstances and surroundings and coming to conclusions. I tend to be pretty lazy when it comes to taking action on something (like getting out of bed in the morning!), so I thoroughly plan things in my head and have thus become very efficient and organized. I don't like to waste my energy on things I don't need to do. I like to know where I'm going from the get-go so that I can plan accordingly and be prepared for the road up ahead.
     But God just doesn't want my life to go this way! He's created me this way for His glory and honor, true, and He has definately used these characteristics to help people-- especially in my job. But as far as my walk with Him goes, He will not allow these characteristics to have any part in it! So many times I've sat and pondered away hours just thinking about the implications of this and that, the ramifications of such and such, and the reactions I would have to whatever may happen from such things.
     Just today I was talking with a friend of mine, and I was telling her, though not in explicit words as I couldn't fully formulate my thoughts into coherent sentences, that she needed to step back and make an honest evaluation of her circumstances and situation. She replied she didn't have to figure anything out, that God would do it all. This just didn't seem logical to me. But I prayed about it when we got off the phone, and the Lord helped me to fully formulate that idea which I had so incoherently presented to her earlier. I asked the Lord what I meant, and as I wrote down the words "stand back and make an honest evaluation of what you are doing (what's going on/your situation)", the Lord opened my eyes and said to me, "This is not walking by faith!".

     So just what is it to walk by faith? Previously I had thought this verse to mean that we may not know where we are going, but we know who is leading us, and that He is going to work all things for good. This is true, of course, but this is only the broad view of what it means. I had also taken this verse to mean that we don't plan out our lives, but live each day praying and seeking His will for that day, doing what He has called us to do moment by moment. This is also true, but also not the whole picture.
     To walk by faith and not by sight entails far more faith than I ever previously thought. It is not only not knowing where you're going in the long run, but not necessarily knowing where you're going now. It is not only seeking God's will for each moment, but also not relying upon confirmations and externally obvious leading. Walking by faith means that you don't sit around trying to figure out what God is doing and then go do it, but that you do it before you know what He's doing. It's not just following God's will when you know it, but following that still, small voice in your heart calling to you: His Holy Spirit.
     To walk by faith and not by sight is to not only walk in the way God has shown you, but to walk in that way despite your circumstances around you. Peter, before he walked on water, did not stop and "make an honest evaluation" of his circumstances-- if he did, he would never have stepped out of the boat! Fear would have set in. He did not listen to the other disciples in the boat, who, no doubt, told him he was crazy to some extent. Peter probably didn't even realize fully what he was doing (stepping out onto a raging sea), but just knew that Jesus was in front of him, calling out to him, telling him to come.

     Peter was so caught up in being with his Lord that he stepped out of the boat and miraculously walked on the sea. So should our walks be. We should have our eyes so intently focused on Jesus that we go wherever He says, whenever He says, not focusing on what we are doing, or how we are doing it, or why He's calling us to do it. We don't even need to necessarily realize what we're doing as we're doing it. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. It's almost like walking around with your eyes closed, letting Jesus lead you-- but it's better because we get to commune with Jesus and see Him and love Him. This is walking by faith, not by sight.