THIRD QUARTER 2022
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #8
AUGUST 20, 2022
“SEEING THE INVISIBLE”

 

"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him Who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27).

The inability to see into the future or know the outcome of a present trial is a necessary requirement for the development of faith.

Consider these familiar texts . . .

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

"He who comes to God must believe that He is." However, "No man hath seen God at any time" (Hebrews 11:6, John 1:18).

"For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Notice the consistent link between faith and blindness. We cannot see, yet we walk. We cannot know the future in detail, yet we plan.

The thing is, we are all blind to the future, believers and unbelievers alike. Everyone has to live, but not all choose to live by faith. How does living by faith differ from just taking whatever life throws at you?

Well let's examine the obvious. The unbelieving and faithless in all ages have conjured up faith substitutes: idols of wood and stone over worship of the true (but invisible) God; astrology and witchcraft over Bible prophecy; the word of man over the word of God; evolution (a manmade idol) over the creation story.

But we aren't born faithless. In the heart of everyone who enters this world God has placed the capacity to believe in something they cannot see.

"God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).

The New King James states that "a" measure of faith has been given. The King James is more emphatic: "the measure" of faith has been dealt to every man.

True faith exists. And though it isn't based on sight, it must be based on something. What?

True faith grasps hold of the word of God and believes it.

"The inculcation of faith is the teaching that the word of God itself accomplishes the thing which is spoken in that word" (A. T. Jones, Lessons on Faith, p. 9).

To live by faith is to live by "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

What is the source of this faith?

It is Jesus Who died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

It was Jesus who exercised faith in coming to this dark world to bear our condemnation. It was His faith that led Him to reverse the condemnation that was ours in Adam resulting in justification of life for all men (Romans 5:18).

Since Adam's fall the human race has been sustained by the faith of Jesus. He believes that His incredible sacrifice to save us will activate a responsive faith, measured out as a gift to every human born into this world. His agape love alone is the instrument He employs to woo us back from the clutches of Satan. Jesus believed that some would respond.

On the cross Jesus lost all hope. Our sins were too black. Our guilt too heavy. He could not bear it. The weight of our sins crushed out His life. He could not see through the portals of the tomb. We cannot see what is ahead for our future either. But on the cross the faith of Jesus pierced through the darkness of separation from His Father. Though every earthly support had been removed, for the joy set before Him -- not His salvation but ours -- He endured the cross, despising the shame (Romans 12:2).

This story should stir our hearts with the deepest of emotions.

"Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?"

Yes, there is.

We do not know what disaster awaits us tomorrow. But we can grasp the hand of Jesus in faith, believing that He knows the future. Through the eye of faith, not seeing but believing, we can rest assured that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28, NKJV).

To live by faith is to live by the Word. In every gift and every blessing, every trial and every misstep we can live faith in the living Word of God.

In this life, if we will, we can erect a memory hall of faith in which the evidences of God's merciful leading and interventions in our lives are recalled with praise to God. In all things we can give thanks.

Moses forsook the security of Egypt with its worldly honor, pleasures, and riches to share the reproach and affliction with the people of God. "By faith . . . he endured as seeing Him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27).

~Patti Guthrie