OceanSide church of Christ
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LET US
SIMPLY “WALK BY FAITH”
Victor M.
Eskew
“For we walk
by faith, not by sight.” These
words are recorded II Corinthians 5:7.
They set forth that which governs the Christian’s life each day. His is a walk of faith. This is not a blind leap in the
dark. Oh no! Faith is acquired through a divine
medium, the Word of God. “So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). God’s children hear the voice of God and
follow His directions explicitly and without question. In so doing, they walk by
faith.
These are many examples
found throughout history of those who have walked by faith. In Genesis 6:14, we read of God’s
command to Noah. “Make thee an ark
of gopher wood: rooms shalt thou
make in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch.” Rain had never been seen upon the
earth. The ship to be constructed
was of monstrous proportions. Could
it be that God would really destroy all flesh upon the earth? These things could have been obstacles
to Noah’s faith. Noah, however,
refused to waver. “Thus did Noah;
according to all that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen. 6:22). His obedience constituted a “walk by
faith.” “By faith Noah, being
warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the
saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became the heir of
righteousness which is by faith” (Heb. 11:6).
Abraham was another
servant of God who “walked by faith.”
He had waited patiently for years to have a son. Finally, Issac was born and brought the
patriarch great joy. Then, God’s
word came that contained a difficult command. “And he said, Take now thy son, thine
only son Issac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and
offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell
thee of” (Gen. 22:2). What would
Abraham do? How would he
react? This noble man did as he
should have done; he walked by faith.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promise
offered up his only begotten son” (Heb. 11:17).
Walking by faith is a
simple process. God’s promises, we
believe. God’s commands, we
obey. However, walking by faith can
also be difficult. God’s promises
and God’s commands often go against human reason and understanding. We begin to ask: “Why?” Our own understanding leads us in a
direction away from God’s commands.
Solomon’s words exhort us when we reach such a point. He said: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil”
(Prov. 3:5-7). In order to walk by
faith, we must remove the “buts,” the “what abouts,” and the “I thinks” from our
vocabulary. We must trust God fully
and with our whole heart.
Many Christians have
ceased to walk by faith. Their
lives are often characterized by ignorance of God’s Word, little interest in
spiritual things, immorality, and a disgust for those who are seeking to remain
faithful to God. Their own
reasoning and rationality have replaced a deep faith in God. They are like