Creator, Father, King #282

We walk by faith, not by sight.

IF YOU’VE EVER SUNG a traditional Christian hymn at church, chances are, you’ve sung a hymn written by Fanny Crosby.

Born in 1820, Crosby tragically went blind at six weeks old when an illegitimate doctor applied hot mustard poultices to her eyes to treat an illness. Her father died while she was young, so she was mostly raised by her Christian grandmother while her mother worked to support the family.

But these great trials didn’t dampen young Crosby’s spirit. She quickly developed a love for memorizing Scripture and writing poetry. Look at her first poem, written at age eight:

Oh, what a happy soul I am,

Although I cannot see!

I am resolved that in this world

Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy

That other people don’t,

To weep and sigh because I’m blind

I cannot, and I won’t!

Eventually, Crosby began a prolific songwriting career, composing the lyrics to approximately nine thousand Christian hymns before her death in 1915, at age ninety-four. Her catalogue includes some of the most beloved songs in church history, such as “Blessed Assurance,” “To God Be the Glory,” and “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.”

In every sense of the phrase, Crosby lived out today’s verse—walking by faith, not by sight.

What’s It Mean?

While most of us don’t struggle with the physical limitations that Crosby did, all Christians are called to walk by faith, not by sight. This means we are to

• believe in a holy God whom we cannot see;
• believe that he created the world, sovereignly rules over it, and requires worship and obedience from everyone he created;
• believe in God’s eternal Son, who came to earth, lived a sinless life, died an atoning death, and gloriously rose again;
• believe that salvation only comes through repentance from sins and faith in this great Savior, Jesus Christ;
• believe that all of God’s promises in Scripture are true;
• believe that the Christian life is about faithful obedience to God as he transforms us into his image; and
• believe that one day, Jesus will return to establish his heavenly Kingdom forever.

You can’t see any of these things through human sight. But God calls you to walk them out by faith anyway—for your eternal good and his glory.

Will you?

Now What?

Where are you struggling for faith? Ask a trusted friend or family member to pray for you in that area.

Did You Know?

Fanny Crosby and her husband (also blind) chose to live in Manhattan’s rough-and-tumble Lower East Side so they could minister at a friend’s rescue mission.