You know, in this life we only get to see a little bit. In 1 Cor. 13 verse 12 Paul says,  ^“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

I’m so glad that I don’t know everything! When I think about my past, my present and all that I see around me in the world, things are confusing. I can’t put the pieces together. When I make the mistake of putting too much stock in my own opinion and perspective, things get out of whack real quick. I start to get very stressed out because the conclusions I come to, which are based on my imperfect understanding, are awfully grim. There are things I see in the world and things that have happened in my life that I just don’t get. When I try to understand them, I just get more confused.

This verse is very freeing to me. It means there’s room for mystery. It means there’s room for, “I don’t know.” It means there’s room for, “I guess I’ll find out on the other side.” That takes a lot of pressure off of me. No matter how much I read, no matter how many podcasts I listen to, no matter how much scripture I memorize, I simply will never figure out all the complexities of this life. It’s just not gonna happen. God will continue to teach me and reveal things to me, but I’m just not gonna know the whole thing on this side of heaven. I’m ok with that. I think the reason that’s the case is because God wants us to trust him. He wants us to trust his heart and his character. You don’t need a whole lotta trust or faith when you know everything.

So, what about you? Are you living by faith or by sight? If you live by sight, you’re gonna hurt yourself and others. You’ll think you see it all and you may even feel confident of that, but you’ll be wrong. In your confidence in your own sight, you’ll make colossal mistakes that you don’t need to make. When you live by faith, there’s room to breathe. There’s room to say, “God, I just don’t know about this one, but I’m gonna trust you and see what happens.” My prayer is that you’ll choose the latter…that we’ll all choose the latter.

God, I love you and I trust you. I recognize that there’s a ton of stuff that I don’t understand and won’t understand this side of heaven. Help me to walk by faith and not by sight. Help me to posture myself as a child that is in constant need of his Dad for guidance.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.”