By Faith, Not By Sight

By Jill Palmer

There was a time that my daughter, Kate, and I were at one of the several therapists we have seen over the years for her sensory issues. This therapist was fabulous and we learned a lot from her. The fact that she was a believer was even more of blessing because she helped us to see how God had created our bodies and how He was at work healing them.

One of the things she shared with me has had such a profound impact on what I understand about my life with Christ. She was working one day on Kate’s hearing and her sight and explaining how they work together to interpret the world around her. She then said that if she ever had to lose either her sight or her hearing and she had a choice, she’d rather lose her sight.

It startled me at first to think about that. I admit that I’ve pondered that question before but I’d always picked my sight as something I’d wanted to keep. Mainly because the thought of going around in the dark scared me and made me feel less in control. Why would I want to lose it?

She went on to explain that our eyes can only see what we’re looking at. You don’t really see what’s in your peripheral until something draws your attention that way. You can’t see what’s behind you either. Only what is directly in front of you. Your eyes alone don’t tell you the whole story. It’s very limited.

 

Our ears, on the other hand, can tell you where you are in a room. It’s truly amazing. For example, without looking (I can’t close my eyes because I’m typing but I can tell you what I hear and where it is) I can say that my washing machine is running just off to the right of me and slightly behind me. It’s fairly quiet to my left. My dog is snoring at my feet. My keyboard is clicking right in front of me. My home phone just rang but I can tell it’s in the other room. I hear my kids every once in a while laughing from downstairs. With all of those sounds I can tell exactly where I am in my house – at my computer. 

If I could block out all sound and rely only on what I can see in this moment, my world would consist of a computer screen and nothing else. My sight is very limited.

The same is true in the spirit world. If we only rely on what we can “see” then we are left with a very limited view. We need to close our eyes for a moment and “hear” what is around us, what is true, what God is speaking. And when we do this we will be able to “see” where we are and know that we are in the midst of His hands.

The Bible says to walk by faith and not by sight. Physically and spiritually, walking without sight is difficult. It can be scary. It takes getting used to. But it can be done.

Oftentimes we become so overly focused on what we see that we forget to listen to what is around us. Instead we need to close our eyes and listen intently. I believe when we do this we can hear God more clearly. We can pay attention to His still, small voice and marvel at the exact place He has us. 

Have you felt like God wasn’t speaking? Are you overwhelmed by what you see in front of you? Take heart. Close your eyes and hear the Lord’s whisper. Close your eyes to what you physically see – not out of ignorance but out of trust. He is there reaching His hand out to not only guide you, but to comfort and shelter you as well.