Pastor’s Corner: “Believing in Advance What Will Only Make Sense in Reverse”
Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Are you one of those people who like to figure things out? Are you always trying to make sense out of any given situation? I am thankful for analytical people in my life but like all good things taken to the extreme, analyzing can turn obsessive and our focus can be fixed on that which cannot be explained anyway. My favorite definition of faith comes from Philip Yancey: “Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” So many things in this life make no sense to us. We all have very deep and personal questions that defy human answers. We want to know why things happen the way they do and why couldn’t things have happened some other way. It would be wrong to say that faith provides all the answers. It doesn’t. By faith we see things that are invisible to others and by faith we believe in advance those things that right now make no sense but one day will make perfect sense because we will view them in reverse.
How sad is that that we can be consumed with trying to know what we think we need to know when we think we need to know it. Surely we’re missing out on opportunities to serve the Lord and the rest that is only found in Him. Here we are trying to find wisdom in what we can see and what we can figure out, when our life could be freed up by this reminder that God is sovereign and has all things under his control—no matter the circumstance.
Living by faith is counter-intuitive. Living by faith will always involve some things that are contrary to what common sense would suggest. Building an ark is counter-intuitive. Leaving Ur of the Chaldees for an unknown land is counter-intuitive. Crossing the Red Sea on dry ground is counter-intuitive. Facing Goliath without armor is counter-intuitive. Marching around Jericho is counter-intuitive. Walking on water is counter-intuitive. You could say that every biblical hero did things that were counter-intuitive, that is, they didn’t make sense! And it doesn’t always involve the miraculous. Simple obedience to God when we cannot figure it out, is contrary to what common sense would suggest.
By definition faith “makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 CEV). Later on in Hebrews 11 we are told that Moses persevered because “he saw him who is invisible” (v. 27 NIV). That’s one of the most remarkable and revealing statements in the entire Bible. It appears to be an impossibility. How do you see an invisible person? If you can be seen, you are not invisible. But God was invisible and yet Moses “saw” him. How? “By Faith.” Moses had faith and his faith gave him sight. That’s the ultimate counter-intuitive statement. Faith sees what is really there even though others see nothing at all. Faith believes what is true even though others don’t believe it at all. By faith we see reality, which means we see beyond the world around us. This concept should not seem strange to us, after all, the most beloved hymn in the world (“Amazing Grace”) contains this line, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
The world says, “Seeing is believing.” God says, “Believing is seeing.” We believe, therefore we see.The life of faith is always counter-intuitive. For those who live by faith, everything will make sense in the end. If everything in your life can be explained without God, what do you need God for? Philip Yancey: “Not until history has run its course will we understand how ‘all things work together for good.’ Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” Whatever we are trying to figure out today may not matter tomorrow. So why are we not looking to God first and seeking His direction in what matters most in this very moment? Psalm 90:12 (NIV) – Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton