WALKIN' BY FAITH

I'm gonna walk by faith, not by sight
'cause I can't see straight in the broad daylight.
I'm gonna walk by faith, not by fear
'cause I believe in the One who brought me here.

i was just talking to my mom about faith this afternoon when this song came on the radio. i have no clue who wrote it or sang it, but the words reflect my sentiments exactly.

something i've come to realize this year is that much of our sin comes from a lack of faith. pride comes from a lack of faith that God is more powerful than us. fear comes from a lack of faith that God is in control. doubt is from a lack of faith that God keeps His promises. conversely, when we come to God and kneel at the foot of the Cross, all the rest falls away and faith remains. faith is too precious to lose.

what started today's conversation on faith was my mom's comment about the way everything in the world is on such a negative bend recently - the war, SARS, the feeble economy, news of death, news of cancer... the list goes on - and how easy it is for people to give up on life in these times. my answer to her was that it's exactly in these down times that the message of Jesus is more clearly needed. if anything, this Easter, we should celebrate with hearts that are more grateful than ever! we have an everlasting Hope, an unfading Light to walk in, an eternal Friend! and with this knowlege, we should share it all the more.

recently, my own faith has been tested. of the various reasons, the effect of SARS on my missions trip was one of the bigger ones. since the original target city is an affected city, things were really up in the air. my fundraising was going really well and God just didn't seem to be putting a hold on the project so i'd tell anyone who asked that as far as i was concerned, i would still be going on the trip. i refused to let go of my faith that God could bring us through. of course, it figures that they had my email address wrong so i never got the updates until today! but i was right to believe. the project is still happening. and God might be taking us somewhere other than our intended destination!

so yeah, PRAISE GOD for His almighty sovereignty! in the words of my pastor (who's currently facing the fearful possibility of his own child having cancer): GOD is GOOD no matter what!!!

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
~John 20:29~

We live by faith, not by sight.
~2 Corinthians 5:7~