“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”
We walk by faith and not sight. What does that mean? Faith is the confidence that we have in the testimony of God. In other words we believe what God said even though we can’t see it or Him with our physical eyes.
A good example is when Jesus showed Himself to the disciples Thomas said that he would not believe unless he could stick his hands in the holes in Jesus’ hands and in His side. Jesus said to Thomas “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:29 NRSV
Even in that moment Jesus did not turn Thomas away. As Thomas touched the wombs Jesus told him to believe and not doubt, because Christ is always willing to make an opportunity for us to be in relationship with Him.
He wants our confidence in Him to be so strong that we can see beyond the physical things in front of us and perceive God in the midst of it all. Sometimes the things we see are not what they seem or don’t line up with the plan God has for us. We need to posture ourselves to trust Him no matter what.
Some of you may not be old enough to catch the movie reference. It’s a movie from 1988 called Bloodsport featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme. He enters into a martial arts fighting tournament and goes to get trained.
His sensei takes him through numerous exercises to get him to overcome the physical limitations of his body. In his final stages of training he trains him blindfolded. This is so he has to trust his instincts and not what he sees.
This is our life as believers. We must bring our minds and flesh in subjection to Christ and His word. Then be led by the Spirit of God, which is our guarantee, to lead and guide us into all truth. See God didn’t just say trust me and keep it moving. He gave us the gift of His Holy Spirit as the stamp that He’s going to do what He said.
The Spirit of God living in us as a reminder that we are children of the Most High God. Even when we fail God is still speaking to us that we are His children. Don’t trust what you see. Put your trust in God. We trust in what He has told us in His word. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Better yet without Christ it is impossible to please God, because Christ is the testimony of God. Put your trust in Him and watch him take care of the rest.
That leads us to our Throwback Theology Song of the Week. It comes from hip hop group Acts 29. This group features Braille, Ohmega Watts and Soul Plasma. This is from their 2002 project “Under Exposed.” The featured track is called “Shoot Out.” Tune into the Trackstarz show this week to hear DJ Jeremaya spin this for the Throwback Theology Song of the Day. Until next time…
Peace and blessings,
Damo
https://open.spotify.com/track/5iybYsUI4Ws9Q0ko5IFSHA?si=Hiy8ElFQQWaj5XbAk4NTUQ
