We Fix Our Eyes Of Faith On What We Cannot See

We Fix Our Eyes Of Faith On What We Cannot See

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. –2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

As Hope was born the week of Thanksgiving, our plan had been to create a combination Christmas card/birth announcement to send out in December. I suppose that is what it was, but in a sense it was also a death pronouncement. We sent out hundreds of cards, telling everyone we knew about the diagnosis Hope had been given. We wrote:

So what does this mean for Hope and for our family? It means we may have only a short time to love and enjoy Hope this side of heaven, and that is what we intend to do. She is a beautiful, peaceful child and is already bringing us so much joy. We know that God has a purpose for her life that will be completely accomplished during her days on this earth.

We knew people would look at our circumstances and see only sorrow and tragedy. Some who read our card said we were in serious denial. But it wasn’t denial. We were experiencing an inner reality of God’s presence and purpose that can’t be seen with the eye but is nevertheless very real. Perhaps you know exactly what I mean because you’ve experienced it too. Each day we were given grace and courage that defied explanation, and eyes to see that there is much more that is as real as what we see and touch today.

Choosing to see God working in and through your circumstances for your good and for his glory is not merely “positive thinking,” nor is it denial of reality. It is the ultimate embracing of reality—the reality that can’t be seen with the human eye or processed by human understanding.

What does it mean to fix our eyes on what is unseen? It means that though we have never seen Christ with our physical eyes, we fix our eyes of faith on him and believe. Though we have never seen bodies raised up out of graves, we fix our eyes of faith on Scripture and anticipate that day. Though we have never seen a place called heaven, cannot find it on the map, and can’t imagine what it will be like, we fix our eyes of faith on God’s promises and long to be there.

My unseen Reality, how I need the lens of faith to see who you are, what you are doing, and where you will take me, even as I struggle with the difficult realities of my circumstances.

DIGGING DEEPER