Tag: hebrews 11:3

Believing God is Greater than the Obstacle

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Sometimes what you see can really get in your way. And I mean it can slow you down and discourage you to the point of near destruction.

There comes a time to determine to look past what is visible, obvious, and looming. God works in an unseen realm that is infinitely more powerful than the immediately evident.

Take for our example, Moses. Though standing clearly in his way was both the anger of the most mighty earthly ruler and the obvious temptation to stay in Egypt and enjoy tangible riches beyond measure, Moses left Egypt. If circumstances dictate defeat, but God has promised victory, it becomes critical to fix your eyes on the invisible One and refuse to be tripped up by the noticeable. Hear it in God’s own words, “By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27, ESV, emphasis added).

Let the words resonate in the core of your soul, “He endured as seeing him who is invisible.” Another version declares, “He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27b, NLT).

Will you “keep on going” despite the major obstacles and foreboding details of your life? You can … If your eyes are focused on the unseen. Undetected by the physical eye is the awesome capacity of God who created the universe out of nothing and supports its foundations with His own hand. God is calling you to pray and believe that His invisible power is far greater than both what you can see that is trying to hold you back and what is stretched out before you as an obstruction.

It all goes back to the beginning. Hebrews 11:3 (ESV) proclaims, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” EVERYTHING came from the UNSEEN. By FAITH, we grasp that fact. By the SAME FAITH, we endure NOW. The invisible God who made it all in the beginning is the One making your life what is should be today. The Creator is the Sustainer. Your belief in Him as your Keeper should be as strong as your belief in Him as your Maker. The dynamism that enabled Him to form galaxies out of nothing but His Word is the power that enables Him to accomplish His purpose through your life.

Endure. Do not focus on the challenge. Do not gaze at the hardship. Do not look back at what has been. Determine to see nothing but Him who is invisible and is greater than what seems obvious.

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (I Timothy 1:17, ESV, emphasis added)

Seeing the Unseen: Reflecting on a Winter Sunset

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So 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. – II Corinthians 4:18

Seeing the unseen. Catching a glimpse of the eternal while stuck in the mundane flow of life. Paul had this in mind when he wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter four, verse eighteen, “So 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.”

How do we fix our eyes on the unseen? Are not our eyes made for seeing what is visible? Yes, our eyes of flesh look at the visible, but our spiritual eyes are intended to behold the invisible. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Aha, the essence of all we see in this world sprang from what we cannot see, God Himself. From God’s viewpoint, training ourselves to look at the invisible is of utmost importance.

I took time one evening to look for quite some time at a beautiful winter sunset that caught my eye as I entered a room of my house. It was nearly completely dark outside, and so the sunset shone brightly through the window while the lights in the room were turned out. I had to stand in the darkened room to fully appreciate the blazing red glory resting just above the horizon and the bright, hopeful blue sky set atop the red brilliance. After observing for more than a few moments, I reached for the light switch so that I could return to my chore, the reason for entering the room in the first place. However, I was quite distracted by that light, as it obliterated my view of the beautiful sunset, making the window appear black compared to the brightness of the room.

Very quickly I once again reached for the switch – this time to turn off the light. I had to walk to the window and view that sunset one more time, taking it into my heart as I drew a deep breath. And then I thought, “Only when this room and its immediate atmosphere right around me are dark can I appreciate the true beauty of the sunset in the distance.” So it is. We cannot see the real beauty of God’s work in our hearts and our world when we are focused intensely on our immediate needs, concerns, and selfish intentions. Usually closest to our hearts are our own needs. When we finally “turn out the lights” on the seemingly pressing selfish wants and mundane busyness of life, we will be able to behold the eternal working of God Himself in our life and world in which we live.

The goal is for us to forget what we deem important and focus on what Jesus deems invaluable. We need to “turn off the lights” on the immediacy of self and turn our eyes to the invisible intentions of God in our lives. Maybe then, we will begin to see the beauty for which we are longing.

Let us aptly say, “Beauty – real beauty – is in the eye of the beholder of invisible things.” To see the invisible, we have to sacrifice the self.

Thank you, Jesus, for that evening’s winter sunset.