We’re going to begin in First Peter 1:8. Follow along with me. “Whom (referring to Jesus) having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
Peter says we are able to rejoice with joy unspeakable. Why? Because we have come to a place in our lives that we truly know Jesus and are living our lives through our born again natures. What Peter is also telling us, ladies and gentlemen, is that there is no true joy that gives us a reason to rejoice outside of an intimate relationship with Jesus.
What Peter is also describing in this verse is faith. He says we love Jesus even though we have not seen Him and not only that, but we also believe in Him – in who He is, in what He teaches. We do this and we have not laid eyes on Him, and this leads me to the movie, The Miracle Worker.
The Miracle Worker was released in 1962. It is a biopic about the early teenage years of Helen Keller and one of my favorite movies. She was born in 1880 in Alabama and lost her sight and her hearing after a terrible fever when she was 19 months old. After spending years unable to communicate, Keller became frustrated and occasionally violent.
As a last chance before she is institutionalized, her parents contact a school for the blind, which sends half-blind Anne Sullivan to teach Keller how to communicate. She taught her language and how to read and write. Keller graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first blind person in the US to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. She died in 1968 at the age of 87.
A devout Christian, Keller wrote: “Dark as my path may seem to others, I carry a magic light in my heart. Faith, the spiritual, strong searchlight, illumines the way, and although sinister doubts lurk in the shadow, I walk unafraid toward the Enchanted Woods where foliage is always green, where joy abides, where nightingales nest and sing, and where life and death are one in the presence of the Lord.”
Helen Keller’s faith enabled her to be comfortable with not seeing.
Keller’s story reminds me of two verses found in Proverbs 3. We’re going to read the first six verses, but our focus will be on verses five and six.
(1) My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
(2) For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
(3) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
(4) So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
(5) Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
(6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Let’s look at four Hebrew words in this passage: trust, lean, acknowledge and direct.
Trust (#962) means “to trust, to be confident.” It’s feeling safe, secure, and without fear because you have someone you can rely on. In this case, that someone else is God. We read in verse one that the person who knows God’s commandments, who doesn’t forget them, who holds on to them and who keeps them in his heart “trusts in the Lord with all his heart.”
Lean (#8172) means “to rely, to support oneself.” The person who trusts God with all his heart chooses not to trust his own knowledge and wisdom. When we lean on ourselves, we are not leaning on God and trusting Him for His knowledge and wisdom. Big mistake!
Acknowledge (#3045) means “to know by relationship and experience.” One writer brings out the nuances of the word this way: “know him, namely, practically; or own him, his wisdom, by following his counsels; know his power and goodness, by expecting success from him; know his sovereignty, by managing all thy affairs in such a manner as to please and glorify him.” When we acknowledge God, we are like the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus: “Lord, what would you have me to do?” (Acts 9:6)
The last word is direct (#3474). It means “to be right, be straight, be level, be upright, be just, be lawful, be smooth.” Ladies and gentlemen, this is a promise. When we trust God and not ourselves and when we acknowledge Him, He promises to direct us in an upright, just, and righteous way.
Proverbs 3:5-6 describes a person who trusts God so much that he is comfortable with not seeing – not knowing the how but knowing the One who has promised to keep His Word.
Being comfortable with not seeing describes the life of a Christian.
Turn to Habakkuk 2:4. “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”
Now look at Romans 1:17. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Now turn to Galatians 3:11. “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
In these three passages, we see one common phrase: “The just shall live by faith.” What does it mean to live by faith? Let’s turn a the verse we all know, Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith says we are comfortable with not seeing. Faith is the foundation on which our trust, our understanding, and our belief that God will keep His Word to us rests and we see this in Isaiah 55:10-11.
(10) For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
(11) So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
In Romans 4, we are introduced to Abraham – well sort of 😊 – who, through faith, covenanted with God to make available the reality of our salvation through Jesus Christ. The chapter builds on what we learn about Abraham, who is called Abram, in Genesis 12.
(1) Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
(2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
(3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
(4) So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
In these verses, we see three things: a command, a promise, and a response.
God’s command: “Abraham, I want you to trust Me and leave everyone and everything that you have known your entire life and go to a land that I have for you.” God’s promise: “Abraham, if you obey My voice, I will bless you and a great nation will be your inheritance.” Abraham’s response: “Lord, I will do as you say and depart.”
When we read this passage, we often focus on the command and the promise, and that’s okay. But our focus should not be the command and the promise.
Abraham’s response to the command must be our focus. In the first part of verse four it says, “So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken to him.” You see, Abraham had to obey the Lord’s command before the promise could manifest. He had to believe that God was telling him the truth. He had to be comfortable with not seeing.
And because Abraham was comfortable with not seeing, look at what the New Testament says about him in Romans 4.
(18) Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
(19) And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
(20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
(21) And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.
In verse 18, we see Abraham being comfortable with not seeing – “who against hope believed in hope. … according to that which was spoken…” There was nothing in the natural, nothing that he could see, that would indicate Abraham and Sarah would have a son. All he had was God’s Word, God’s promise that it would happen. And for Abraham, God’s Word was enough.
These four verses are powerful. In them, we see that Abraham, in his response to God –
? was not weak in faith
? staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief
? was strong in faith
? gave God the glory
? was fully persuaded
Abraham was comfortable with not seeing.
The first step in following God’s way is to walk by faith and not by sight. Put another way: being comfortable with not seeing. All Abraham had to go on was what God had said to him. There was nothing in the natural that indicated he would be the father of nations. Absolutely nothing!
Faith is being comfortable not seeing.
I remember reading this story many years ago.
“A little girl was walking through the hallway of her home, and she came to the place where they had a cellar door. It was one of those trapdoors on hinges, and it was open. She looked down into the darkness, heard a noise down there, and she said, ‘Who’s down there?” And her daddy said, ‘It’s me, Daddy.’
“She replied, ‘Well, I want to come down there with you.’ He answered, ‘Well, I’ve already taken the ladder away, but if you’ll jump, I’ll catch you.’ Now this was a little girl, and she thought, Jump down into that hole? You see, her father could see her because she was in the light, but she could not see him because he was down there in the darkness, and she said, ‘But, Daddy, I can’t see you.’
“He answered, ‘That’s all right. I can see you, go ahead and jump.’ ‘But, Daddy, I’m afraid.’ ‘Now, Honey, wait a minute. I want to ask you a question. Do you believe I’m down here?’ ‘Sure, I believe you’re down there. I’m talking to you.’ ‘Do you believe I’m strong enough to catch you?’ ‘I believe you’re strong enough to catch me.’ ‘OK,’ he said, ‘do you believe that I love you?’ ‘Yes, Daddy, I believe you love me.’
“He asked, ‘Have I ever told you a lie?’ ‘No, you’ve never told me a lie.’ ‘OK, you know I’m here, and I love you, and I would never lie to you. Now jump.’ And she said, ‘OK, Daddy, here I come.’ She stepped off into the black hole, and her Daddy caught her, hugged her, and sat her down.”
Ladies and gentlemen, that is faith. That is being comfortable with not seeing.
Turn to First Peter 1. We’re going to read verses seven through nine.
(7)That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
(8) Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
(9) Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
We know God is there. He speaks to us in our spirits. We know He cannot lie. We believe in His strength, and we know He loves us. So, when He says “go,” we go – just like Abraham. When He says, “jump,” we jump – just like the little girl. When He says, “leap,” we leap – just like the little girl.
Let’s close with the Lord’s testimony about Abraham in Romans 4, which should also be His testimony about us today.
(1) What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
(2) For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
(3) For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Faith is believing, even when we don’t see. Faith is being comfortable with not seeing. And we are comfortable with not seeing because we believe God! Please stand.
