October 3, 2019
Download MP3 (right click to save)
I had been going through this basement closet. I found some buried treasure. Actually, it was a little suitcase filled with the love letters that my wife and I had exchanged over two years of our courtship and engagement - and no you can't see them. It was pretty moving for me to read them again after all these years. As I relived our early romance through those letters, I had an idea, why not put some of these in a scrapbook and give them as a gift to my wife. Small problem: how am I going to do this and keep it a surprise? I actually set up a partition in the back half of our basement. I moved some big furniture around to further obstruct the view, and I made myself a secret "No Trespassing" workshop! Finally, one day I presented to my Honey this book entitled "Chronicles of a Lifetime Love." She had no idea what I'd been working on for her, because, see, I did all the work on it out of her sight!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Out of Sight."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 11:1 - I think you'll see what this has to do with it. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Why is it so important to understand what faith is all about? Well, chapter 11 verse 6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Faith is the way to God's heart. Faith is "...being certain of what we do not see." This is not how we're wired to think. Right? Instinctively, we're only sure of what we can see - what we can hold. We're slaves to the visible - the tangible. God is like me working on that scrapbook in the basement, He's doing something really special, but He's doing it mostly out of our sight.
Faith isn't based on the evidence that you can see. It's based on the character of the God you're trusting. In chapter 11 verse 3 in Hebrews it says, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command." Hello! If He can do that, isn't your situation like a piece of cake compared to forming the universe? It could be that what you can see right now is pretty discouraging: 'I can't see where the money is going to come from, the place I need, the person I need, the strength, the healing I need.' What's in your hand or even in your reach isn't going to do it. But, remember much of God's greatest work is done out of your sight.
The flowers that burst and bloom in the spring? Well, they've been germinating out of sight for a long time before that. That new born baby you hold in your hands has been developing out of sight for months. In fact, it takes a test to find out that that little person's even there at first. God does some awesome work invisibly, and He's doing invisible work for you right now. If you react or you decide, based on just what you can see, you're going to be proceeding on incomplete data, and you're likely to make a mistake!
Faith reaches beyond the visible and it says, "God is going to keep His promises." He always does. The God factor radically changes the whole equation. He's working right now on the answer that will bring Him the most glory and me the most good.
Now look, I don't need to panic, I'm not going to abandon ship, I'm not going to act as if things are out of control. Run around and try to fix it myself. Why? Because faith is being certain of what we do not see because of the kind of God we have.
My wife had no idea what was going on behind that screen in the basement, but she trusted me. Behind the screen, God is working on a gift for you that is very special, and you'll see it when it's done. Until then, trust in the One whose work you cannot see, but whose love you should never doubt.