More importantly, God has not designed faith to be based on sight. That’s why it is called faith – because it accepts, believes and trusts things that are unseen, not seen (Heb. 11:1). We are all confronted with the question, “Will we believe and trust God in spite, or we might add, even through such trials?” Here are several pointers to help us in this matter.

Every single day, Christians are confronted with a barrage of competing messages. One cannot drive down the interstate without being assaulted with numerous billboard messages–-political, commercial and even sexual. Visual messaging is the manner in which society has chiefly chosen to communicate. Perhaps one of the greatest confrontations we face, is when the Word of God and Providence appear to collide–when circumstances appear to contradict God’s promise, or what we see collides with what we believe. Such, can indeed, be a great trial of faith.

The unbelieving world is constantly telling us that “seeing is believing.” Sadly, believers often work according to that maxim. If we could just see evidence of God’s plan and goodness, or somehow be assured through circumstance, all would be well. If we could only know everything will work out (usually according to our definition) our faith would rest secure. Yet we must be clear, that mindset, is thoroughly unchristian and by no means the way God has determined we should walk. Consider the following example:

In John 20, Mary Magdalene approached the tomb of the Lord weeping with great sorrow (Jn. 20:11,13,15). She assumed (15) that the Lord’s body had been stolen and hidden, and with loving devotion asked the one whom she supposed to be the gardener, where he was laid. She was actually looking at her Lord but didn’t have the eyes to see it. She saw with the eyes of flesh but still did not recognize him.

What had happened? Because he had cured her of demon possession, Mary loved her Lord with great zeal. She was, no doubt, devasted by the circumstances surrounding his death. She stayed at the foot of the cross, and then came to minister to her Lord in his supposed burial. She had not comprehended the teaching of Christ, that he must suffer, die, be buried and be raised from the dead. None of his disciples had truly comprehended this fact The circumstances before them overcame their earlier faith. They could not comprehend a resurrection – the supernatural and true explanation for the empty tomb; rather, they settled for a natural explanation – namely, that his body had been stolen. Circumstance over-ruled the Word of Christ.

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