Seeing by Faith 凭信心看见

[Dexu Xia]

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

During my morning walk, the sun hit the waters of Lake Michigan at a perfect angle to produce a stunning view. I asked my friend to stop and wait for me as I positioned my camera to take a pic. Because of the position of the sun, I couldn’t see the image on my phone’s screen before I snapped the shot. But having done this before, I sensed it would be a great picture. I told my friend, “We can’t see it now, but pictures like this always come out good.”

Walking by faith through this life is often like taking that picture. You can’t always see the details on the screen, but that doesn’t mean the stunning picture isn’t there. You don’t always see God working, but you can trust that He’s there. As the writer of Hebrews penned, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (11:1). By faith we place our confidence and assurance in God—especially when we can’t see or understand what He’s doing.

With faith, not seeing doesn’t prevent us from “taking the shot.” It just might make us pray more and seek God’s direction. We can also rely on knowing what’s happened in the past as others have walked by faith (vv. 4–12) as well as through our own stories. What God has done before, He can do again.

By:  Katara Patton

What are you trusting God to do even though you may not see it clearly right now? How has He delivered you or your family in the past?

Heavenly Father, thank You for all the ways You’ve provided for me in the past. Help me to walk by faith even if I can’t see all You’re doing.

信就是所望之事的实底，是未见之事的确据。—希伯来书11章1节

早晨，我与朋友一起散步，密歇根湖在太阳的照耀下波光粼粼，闪烁着点点金光，景色极为壮观美丽。我请朋友稍等片刻，我要用手机将这美景拍下来。由于阳光的照射，在按下快门之前，我无法看到手机荧幕上的画面。但以往的经验告诉我，这张照片一定很好看。我对朋友说：“虽然我们现在看不见荧幕上的画面，但相信会拍出美丽的景色！”

信心的旅程往往就像拍摄那张照片一样，有时你看不清荧幕里的细节，并不表示没有美丽的画面。有时你看不见上帝的作为，但你还是可以相信祂一直在你身边。正如希伯来书的作者写道：“信心就是相信我们所盼望的必定实现，信心也使我们对不能看见的事有确实的把握”（希伯来书11章1节，新普及译本）。我们凭着信心，全然信靠并确信这位上帝，在我们看不见或不明白上帝的作为时，更是如此。

有了信心，就算看不清楚，也不能阻挡我们把握机会“拍下美景”。这只会促使我们不断祷告，寻求上帝的指引。过去有许多人凭信心而行（4-12节），当我们知道在他们身上所发生的事，再加上我们自身的经历，便能坚固你我的信心。上帝过去如何行事，如今也照样能再行大事。

作者：  潘恺兰

即使现在还看不到结果，
你需要继续信靠上帝来解决什么难题呢？
过去祂曾如何拯救你或你的家人？

天父，感谢祢过去以各种方式供应我一切所需。
即使不明白祢现在的作为，求祢帮助我仍凭信心而行