Living By Faith In Jesus

Hello,
 
Has terror ever filled your heart because of what you have seen; something that you really believe is coming at you, and that will destroy who you are?  Well, I sure have. 
 
Being very much of the earth--earthy--we always want tangible, visible things--proof, demonstrations, something to latch onto. If we always had them, of course, faith would be "struck blind."  Many of our prayers are directed toward the quick and easy solution.  However, it is with our patiently waiting that God receives the greater glory.
 
There is a story of a man who let a rope down into a shaft in order to lower himself to the bottom.   As he reached the end he realized he didn't provide enough rope, for his feet were still dangling.  He was totally exhausted, unable to climb back to the top, but he had convinced himself that to let go would be sudden death.  When he could hold on no longer, he had no choice and as he fell just a few inches he landed on solid rock.
 
"Our troubles are slight and short-lived, and their outcome an eternal glory which outweighs them far. Meanwhile our eyes are fixed, not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen"  2 Cor. 4:17

A person can get a bit tongue-tied trying to tell what happened in 1 Samuel 28. Saul saw a seer because of what he had seen. When Saul saw what he saw, he sought a seer to see what the seer would say about what he saw.
 
That may seem like a ridiculous set of sentences when you are reading the Bible and having devotions, but they make a point. What Saul did was ridiculous, a mistake we should not make.
 
The bottom line is that Saul was living by sight, not by faith. "When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart" (1 Samuel 28:5). His first response was to pray, but God did not answer. His next response shows that he was not seeking God as much as he was looking for help, no matter where it came from.  "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of  her." (Verse 7)   Living by sight was a pattern with Saul. Living by faith was not. Yet living by faith is blessed by God. Living by sight is not.
 
How do you live? When God does not seem to answer quick enough for you, it is tempting to decide on the basis of what you see. Don't do it. Don't be like Saul, who let what he saw decide what he would do.
 

"Living by faith in Jesus above;
Trusting, confiding in His great love:
Safe from all harm in His sheltering arm
I'm living by faith and feel no alarm."
                                                                                                                James Wells
 
 

May the Lord bless you today, and remember that you are loved!!!

Henry