2 Corinthians 5:7 Devotional

For we live by faith, not by sight.
-2 Corinthians 5:7

Have you ever driven somewhere only to realize that you can’t remember how you got there?

One night I arrived home from work and my wife asked me, “How was traffic?” I was about to answer “Not bad!” when I realized that I couldn’t remember any details of the trip. I knew I had left work and gotten inside of my car… and then I was home. Somehow fifteen minutes of the trip home – complete with turns, lane-switches, and stoplights – were completely gone from my memory. The muscle-memory that had developed over years of driving to and from the same place had actually carried my body while my mind had been elsewhere! Isn’t the human body incredible?

In his letter to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul had a similar message about muscle-memory. However, rather than a physical journey, Paul references a spiritual journey from our temporary home here on earth to our eternal home with God the Father in heaven.

“For we live by faith, not by sight.”

For those believers of Jesus Christ living in Corinth, the works and miracles of Jesus were only stories told by those who had traveled with Him. Like many of us today, the Corinthian church wished that they themselves could see Jesus in His glory, that their faith may be made strong in the midst of their difficult days. How often do we pray the same thing?

As a loving father of this new church, Paul reminds the Christians of one of Jesus’s interactions with the apostle Thomas following His resurrection. Faced with doubt and dismay, Thomas refused to believe that Jesus had risen unless he touched Jesus’s nail-scarred hands. In response, Jesus told Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

As Christians, we are called to live by faith and not by sight. Our relationship with God should be such that our faith and response is a muscle-memory moment – we do not need to rely on a roadmap to lead us to God, we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to His presence through the work of Jesus Christ. In faith, we believe that Jesus is with us and that He is at work in our lives even when we can’t see Him. When we arrive at eternity and meet Him face to face, we will look back in wonder at the countless moments He was active in our days.

Will you live by faith today? Pray that God would help you develop your faith muscle so that you can walk in trust without struggle!

Questions For Reflection on 2 Corinthians 5:7

#1 Think of the story of Jesus and Thomas in John 20. How did Thomas’s doubt prevent him from experiencing Jesus as He truly was? How does your doubt stop you from following Jesus in faith?

#2 What does walking by faith and not by sight look like in everyday life? How can you put faith-walking into practice so that it becomes a muscle-memory?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to trust that You are there. When I doubt in my faith journey, help me to know that You are there and that You are working in the midst of what I cannot see. I ask that you would give me strength today to live a bold life that knows You are with me. Make me a disciple that shares my hope and faith even when it is difficult!