To walk by faith and not by sight is to live by trust in God rather than by what can be seen, as the normal Christian walk sustained by prayer and the Word. Faith is not sight, for it rests on trust rather than on demonstration, and wanting to go only as far as can be seen to be safe leaves God no opportunity to act. Feeling is no criterion to govern life, for feelings change with circumstances while God does not change, so assurance of pardon and acceptance rests on His Word whether feeling gives reassurance or not. Walking by faith means taking God at His Word, believing He means just what He says, planting the feet on His promises and looking to Jesus to be changed into His likeness. It is practical rather than abstract, showing its result in obedience, keeping God's commandments, walking uprightly in the light, and looking beyond visible troubles to what is unseen and eternal.
Meaning of Walking by Faith
The verse calls believers to live by trust in God rather than by what can be seen, as the normal Christian walk. That walk is sustained through prayer and grounded in the teachings of the Word, accompanying personal knowledge of Christ and sanctification, and it requires energetic, unwavering confidence especially in danger and spiritual sleep, relying on God and not on self for strength, victory and qualification for service, and trusting Him amid trials, temptations and difficulties in working with one another instead of letting distrust, jealousy or offense take the place of faith. Faith enables living as though seeing the invisible God and taking in the glories of the future eternal world, joined to hope for what is not yet seen, and it means looking beyond outward appearances even when hardship and opposition make the situation seem discouraging.
Faith is not sight, for sight would end faith. It rests on probability rather than on demonstration, for if it rested on demonstration it would cease to be faith. This working faith keeps the love of Jesus in the heart as worth everything, makes patience under pain possible without distressing the soul with constant worrying because Christ is at the right hand to help in every emergency, and requires daily education to walk as in the sight of God while expecting often to be disappointed in men and in their piety and religious experience. It means redeeming time from things seen and temporal to meditate on things unseen and eternal, resisting an encroaching world, putting on Christ, communing closely with Him who sees in secret, laying hold by faith on His might and making peace with Him, holding fast to God as the only source of strength right where one is.
Walking by sight means going only as far and as fast as can be seen to be safe, which leaves God no opportunity to act and marks all efforts with errors and imperfections. Walking by faith advances as far as workers can see and then goes beyond sight, taking hold of the work as of vital importance with zeal and earnestness that will bear the test of the Judgment, giving the Lord opportunity to do something, going farther than can be seen and venturing something for truth's sake as part of religious experience, without giving way to unbelief despite limited means and discouragement and without waiting to see the whole way or the outcome in advance. The returned exiles failed this in rebuilding the temple, wanting to walk by sight and no further, so when trouble, expense, danger and opposition appeared they framed excuses about wrong timing and left the work from selfish dislike of extra trouble, expense and danger; looking at things seen makes impossibilities appear, but God knows nothing of impossibilities and His great work advances only by the push of faith in things hoped for though unseen, a history repeated whenever people lack faith.
Wanting to walk by sight is unbelief that is offensive to God, dishonors His name, distrusts His Word, withholds the heart from Him, and keeps believers from advancing in Christian experience. Living by what is seen believes only things seen and does not appreciate His promises, while living by trust believes and values the precious promises though unseen, believes He means just what He says and is in earnest and does not deceive, with confidence in Him as a tender Father who does not forsake those who trust Him, together with confession of sin and humility of heart; showing distrust and questioning whether He means it dishonors Him most decidedly, darkens experience and limits what is received from His power, so difficulties should drive prayer for strengthened faith and power to overcome. Walking by trust develops faith, obedience and love equal to talents, light and grace received, following shining light so experience grows brighter and brighter unto the perfect day with renewal in knowledge and true holiness and daily victories over self, pride and love of the world, opening heaven and bringing fulfillment of rich promises with nothing wanting; without increase of faith light and blessings decrease and condemnation is proportioned to grace and truth bestowed.
Believers now live in a mortal, imperfect, cloudy state by faith, in contrast to the coming immortal, perfect state of open glory when they will see face to face. Trusting without seeing is a discipline laid on everyone, because heaven, the saints' eternal home of perfect love, holiness, peace, endless bliss, infinite glory, riches and knowledge, cannot be described by deepest study and broadest experience nor grasped by the senses and is known now only in part. God gives enough evidence to accept truth but does not remove every reason for doubt, for then faith would not be needed; what His Word clearly establishes is to be trusted without demanding that every difficulty be resolved or that finite minds fathom His counsels. Going forward by faith is not without evidence, because those who go forward have with them the assured presence of Christ and the power of His salvation with blessed assurance.
Walking by faith does not mean closing the eyes to what is around; believers are to look carefully, keeping attention on the Saviour who guides into truth, trusting and obeying step by step even when the reason for a command or the future is not yet clear, until the way becomes plain and faith leads toward salvation. Abraham's departure for an unknown country shows this trust in action, relying on God's knowledge and watching for divine guidance. Refusing to trust beyond what is visible blocks conviction and improvement, for obstinacy rejects what sight cannot take in and clings to its own plans and opinions even when there is good reason to recognize they are wrong. Defective spiritual eyesight wants aftersight before foresight, whereas faith must be increased by the deep moving of the Spirit upon mind, heart and character, as in trusting God's presence and grace to build a neat, humble, attractive and convenient house of worship that honors Him, presents the very best offering and represents the elevated work without cheap half-hearted work, so that His salvation will be seen and sinners converted.
In the Second Advent experience believers up to the autumn of 1844 walked as it were by sight in the blazing light of unsealed prophecy and rapidly fulfilling signs that Christ's coming was at the doors. Afterward with disappointed hopes and stricken hearts they must live by faith in the sure word and in God's work in that experience. Those who hold fast by faith please God and believe to the saving of the soul, while those who grow impatient, cast away confidence in the way God has led and draw back, meet His displeasure and perdition.
Faith Above Feeling and Sight
To walk by faith is to refuse to be controlled by feeling, for feeling is no criterion and is never to govern or guide life. Feelings and affections themselves must be governed rather than allowed to control, since they change with circumstances and with visible dangers and fearful feelings. They can be played upon to bring disappointment and discouragement and to gain the victory, leaving those without moral power to rise above poor feelings unfitted to overcome the perils of the last days and the temptations of Satan. Intelligent faith is therefore needed so that when the battle goes hard believers do not look at the things which are seen and lose courage, for without faith it is impossible to please God; faith must be strengthened by practice so that when severe tests come believers trust Jesus as personal Saviour and righteousness rather than dwelling on imperfect lives and losing hope. This trust is simple obedience and entire trust like a little child's in its parents, staying humble, drawing close to God, finding all strength wholly in Him, doing practical duties, and receiving Christ as personal Saviour on God's Word even when feeling gives no reassurance; it brings help when needed and peace in the heart expressed in love, joy and peace, as Enoch's life shows in the testimony that he pleased God, and looking to Jesus who can save completely gives hope and assurance.
Depending on emotions as evidence of answered prayer is unbelief, since faith trusts God without waiting for visible proof or a change in feelings. Feelings vary with circumstances while God does not change, so a feeling of assurance is good and to be praised for, yet depressed feelings do not mean God has changed and He is to be praised just as much in depression as in assurance. Walking by faith is a covenant to live by trust in His Word, remaining firm even when circumstances seem impossible or dark, moving forward in humble obedience while expecting Him to answer, sustain and bless, and in trials, discouragement and grief refusing to conclude that joy in the Lord is impossible but being driven to Christ, since failing to turn to Him brings loss.
Darkness and discouragement, a deep sense of unworthiness and terror, and the loss of yesterday's peace and joy are no evidence that God has changed toward the believer or the believer toward God. Whether there is feeling or no feeling, the Christian keeps trusting Christ and resting in the promises, keeping confidence, keeping the eye fixed on Jesus, faithfully performing every known duty, grasping the hand of Christ and trusting Him as fully in darkness as in light. The mind is not to be forced up to a certain intensity of emotion, and in suffering faith rests on God as helper and leaves the kind and timing of relief to Him without being troubled by what can be seen or felt.
Walking by faith means ceasing fretting, complaining, murmuring, fretfulness and gloom, earnestly remedying every defect of character, and putting away what represents the prince of darkness rather than Christ the Prince of light. No word of unbelief or discouragement is to escape the lips, for such expression dishonors Jesus and pleases Satan, and doubts coming into the mind are not to be expressed to gratify him; instead believers are to talk faith, hope and courage, believe and receive every word of God's promises as certain that Christ will do just as He said, and let every action testify to belief and trust. They resist depressing influences by willpower, gain moral power through labor and study of the Scriptures, pray in faith for strength, dismiss the tempter, refuse to talk trials, speak pleasant words, seek to help and bless one another, comfort poor doubting troubled souls with assurance that Christ will not leave them comfortless but will come to them, gather every ray of light to flash upon the pathway of others, and walk in the light and in the sunshine of the Lord's presence in cheerfulness and happiness so that the peace and joy shining in the face of Jesus is reflected and casts no shadow to darken the pathway of others.
Assurance of pardon and acceptance rests on God's Word, not on feeling. The sinner who has sincerely repented and confessed is to hold it a duty to believe that Jesus who died for sinners will pardon transgressions, believe God forgives and receives him as His child, surrender to Him, rest the case with Him, and find rest and peace in Christ whether feeling gives reassurance or not. This means saying both that I am a sinner and that I have a Saviour, trusting that the Lord wants the sinner saved, believing His promises and the plain Thus saith the Lord instead of requiring a certain state of feeling to prove acceptance, refusing impressions of unbelief and feeling that eclipse confidence in the Word of the living God, putting confidence in Christ who gave His life for sinners, believing and receiving His Word and taking hold of the divine Word as true, giving self anew to God, being loyal and true to His Word, and holding firmly to the freedom Christ gives while trusting the Lord to show His salvation. Claiming to believe on Christ is of no avail unless the claims of God's law are acknowledged and its precepts daily striven to be obeyed, for this walk is lived out by keeping God's commandments, which when obeyed are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh.
Faith and feeling are as distinct as east from west and must not be confounded together. Walking by faith means not suffering feeling to govern, especially in the darkest hours, but exercising faith to press through the dark clouds to the throne of God and claim the blessing of heaven. When faith grasps the blessing the blessing is ours because faith has got hold of it, and when faith brings the blessing down and the dark clouds scatter and divine rays of light from Jesus illumine the darkness, it is no more faith but feeling, for evidence has come and feeling has swallowed up faith.
Trusting Christ and His Promises
Walking by faith means taking God at His Word, believing that He means just what He says and is in earnest and does not deceive, valuing His precious promises though they are unseen, and holding fast to Christ once He is received. Living by what is seen is believing only things that are seen and not appreciating His promises, while showing distrust in what He says and questioning whether He means it dishonors Him most decidedly and causes great loss. Obeying the written Word rather than relying on what can be seen or felt, looking to Jesus, offering prayers in confidence, taking hold of His strength, and rejoicing in known blessings bring greater cheerfulness and strength, and even when the body is in constant pain and growing more feeble and sight shows disease and coming death, faith still holds to the naked promise with firm confidence, thirsting for assurance of love, declaring recovery while still without relief, and continuing in silent prayer until deliverance comes.
Faith plants the feet upon the promises, bears the whole weight upon them regardless of feeling, calls upon the Lord trusting the promise will be verified, and seeks the Lord with all the heart so He will be found. When healing has been prayed for, it holds that God has heard and has wrought and will carry on the work begun, without asking Him to do again what is already done, and it acts on that trust in duty even while still very weak, keeping the mind stayed upon God with faith in constant exercise and expecting strength to increase step by step on the way. It believes God hears and will do what He promised even when feeling and sight give no proof, trusting the promise and going about daily business confident the prayed-for blessing will come when most needed, keeping the mind on His love, mercy and promises and beholding Jesus who takes away sin instead of looking at thorns, difficulties and darkness. In this way doubt, discouragement and gloom are replaced by joy, trials are met as drawings near to God rather than signs of His anger, Satan's effort to hinder through sickness and fear is met and overcome, and strength and blessing follow through Christ with the whole being put on the Lord's side under His control with no reservation of mind, thoughts or affections.
Believers are to look to Jesus and trust God rather than be governed by visible troubles, discouragement or circumstances, looking beyond what is seen to what is unseen and eternal while waiting for His help and salvation. This means keeping a strong hold on God rather than looking at tumultuous waves of trouble, trusting that one touch, one word, one look from Him can remove disease, despondency and gloom, looking up rather than down and fixing attention on eternal things. They are to see by faith the invisible God as Moses did, keeping attention on Jesus the author and finisher of faith, drawing encouragement from the promises when events cause pain, and being strengthened through searching Scripture and beholding Christ. By beholding the Lord's glory they are changed into His image by the Spirit, which prepares a Christlike character for the hope of entering the saints' home above, and faith is further strengthened by studying the Word and practicing its teachings, remembering that the just live by faith.
God is to be depended on day by day for present necessities, placing entire dependence upon Jesus Christ and expecting strength and provision to come as fast as circumstances demand. The arrangement is to ask Him for the very things needed now, because strength for a future emergency is not given beforehand and the grace of tomorrow will not be given today. Man's necessity is God's opportunity, with strength proportioned to the day.
True holiness is not spiritual ecstasy under extraordinary circumstances and not rapture, but includes trusting God in trial and in darkness as well as in the light, relying on Him with unquestioning confidence and resting in His love. It includes entire surrender of the will to God, living by every word from His mouth, doing the will of the heavenly Father, committing the way to the Lord as Helper, placing only hope in Him because He never disappoints, and having the cleansing blood of Christ applied to the heart so that He works out salvation and becomes sanctification and righteousness. In affliction and uncertainty a person can rest in God's care and mercy and choose to walk with Him even in darkness rather than go alone in the light.
Growth in Christian experience comes by trusting without demanding to see the way, for wanting visible proof instead of faith holds believers back and explains why they do not advance more rapidly. Understanding comes only as the soul acts in faith, depending on the gracious power of Jesus Christ to combine with human effort, and such movement God owns and the Holy Spirit confirms by convicting hearts of helplessness apart from Christ. Those who trust in Christ's might and righteousness while destitute of love, who confess faith and pray with simple trust that takes God at His word, receive light, softened and melted hearts, assurance of acceptance, love for brethren, and joyful testimony.
God's leadings are generally mysterious and hidden, and His work is not to be limited nor His ways marked out by human devising, but He is to be left to work in His own way. Believers must venture out upon His Word and walk forward by faith, obeying the truths committed to them, going forward in hope, watchful prayer and gratitude even when apparent impossibilities obstruct the way, and allowing God to direct the warfare. He knows better than they what is good and essential to establish characters fit for the heavenly courts, and He never leads otherwise than they would wish to be led if they could see as clearly as He does. The work is aggressive so no one can stand neutral, indifferent or non-committal and yet be a soldier, for that gains no victories, but those who keep in close connection hear His voice, keep in step with their Captain, go forward in the conflict to fight the battles of the Lord, and reveal a victory of faith that influences others to follow, even when some bearers of truth fail and others from the darkness of error are converted to lift the banner.
Human beings are finite and do not now discern what would be seen if the curtain were rolled back, nor understand now what will be understood hereafter. They are to walk with the hidden God by faith as if He were close beside them, without requiring a personal or miraculous display of His presence, for a full revelation would be more than could be borne. The soul must trust the unerring Guide, Jesus Christ the wise safe Leader who says Fear not and promises to be with and to help, connecting the believer by the golden chain of mercy and pardon with all heavenly agencies with the comfort that He will not leave His own comfortless.
Walking by faith means exercising a living, active faith that works by love and purifies the soul, seeking the Lord, believing His promises, watching unto prayer, understanding personal duty, stepping into the allotted place, and working without expecting to have sight before exercising trusting belief. It means relying on Christ for strength and protection amid temptation and unseen spiritual conflict without knowing which course will prosper, while watching, believing and continuing to work, and not growing weary in well-doing but always abounding in the work of the Lord since every day brings responsibilities only God can give strength to fulfill. Prayer is joined to walking and to working, and talking faith and walking by faith in all work keeps the glory of God in view with the Word as guide, speaking and acting so as to fasten conviction on hearts and consciences. Such walking brings the Holy Spirit's guidance and success through strict regard for the fear of God who searches hearts, so that those who become intelligent in service and walk humbly in the light graciously given will not be left to labor in human strength, and they work with expectation of accomplishing great things because the time to labor is very short.
Following Jesus means trusting His promises and His providence without requiring visible evidence or knowing in advance what will happen. In serving God believers recognize their weakness and depend on Him rather than themselves for strength, qualification and ability to serve. They look to Christ, who won salvation through His death, and receive that salvation by faith.
Obedience and Holy Character
Walking by faith is practical rather than abstract, a trust that attaches itself to actions and shows its result in obedience. It means ceasing to sin and refusing to continue in sin that grace may increase, abhorring and casting away sin because it caused the sufferings of the Redeemer, and warring against the inclinations of the natural heart. It is learned step by step by one who esteems truth enough to step out upon it from conviction of duty and make every sacrifice for it, instead of waiting for a convenient position with no cross. Christ so lives in the believer by faith that in eating and drinking and doing all things to the glory of God, Christ is first and last and best in everything.
This walk is lived out by a Thus saith the Lord rather than by feeling or sight, resting upon the promises and taking hold of the divine Word as true instead of waiting to feel accepted before believing. Feeling and impressions of unbelief eclipse confidence in the Word of the living God, while those who believe and receive His Word are numbered among the receiving ones. Keeping God's commandments is the expression of this walk, for obeyed they are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh, to be treasured as the apple of the eye. In them believers stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free and enter into life.
Walking by faith is walking in the light, earnestly choosing and striving with thought, willpower and endeavor to represent Christ in sweetness of character, putting away all gloom and making spiritual progress instead of resting satisfied in merely saying I am a child of God. It includes walking uprightly, in the way of the Lord, in the Spirit, in the truth, in love, and in newness of life, perfecting holiness in the fear of God while patiently pursuing the race with attention fixed on Christ. By beholding Jesus believers become changed into His likeness, and speaking faith helps faith grow so the life shines for others.
Moses exemplifies reaching beyond what is seen to what is unseen and grasping eternal realities, turning from earthly riches, grandeur and prospects when there was little visible prospect of worldly gain. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, abandoning adoption into the royal family, training in Egyptian learning, power in words and deeds, and prospect of throne, imperial dignity and treasures, forsaking Egypt without fearing the wrath of the king. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches, appreciating the promise of a heavenly inheritance and the recompense of the reward. Such a course comes from no ordinary influence but requires the inspiration of Heaven and divine power alone, bringing eternity into the reckoning, refusing to let the earthly eclipse the heavenly or to risk the crown of glory that fadeth not away for an earthly crown and scepter, and enduring by seeing Him who is invisible. Enoch likewise shows simple obedience and trust rather than guidance by feelings, a life that brings help from God when needed and peace in the heart expressed in love, joy and peace, so that those who learn this way may have the testimony that they pleased God.
Daily faith means living for today rather than becoming anxious about future trouble, seeking victory over self, praying, fighting the fight of faith, and trusting that God blesses and helps. It means being of good courage in the Lord because Christ gave His life and heavenly agencies are promised to those who try to be what the Lord expects, who belong to Him body, soul and spirit and make Him their trust. It means going to the Lord in humility for strength to resist temptations when they come, taking everything to Him in prayer and believing He helps, telling Him all trials and expressing gratitude by words of thanksgiving. It means keeping the mind stayed upon the Saviour, arming oneself with His promises by committing His words to memory, cherishing faith and trust in Christ as teacher and being willing to be taught, refusing to look on the dark side and overcoming darkness and unbelief, and so being an overcomer every day prepared to meet the Master's requirements and bless those around.
A person can live amid temporal visible things while walking with God by faith with eternity in view, trusting His truth rather than being swept away by the doubt and skepticism of the age. Doing God's will brings knowledge of the doctrine and steadiness on the rock of eternal truth. This faith hides self with Christ in God and produces indwelling godliness, steadfast purpose, sanctified relationships, and fair, humble decisions. Walking by faith is both duty and privilege shaping how believers speak, act and live, bringing increased faith, confidence and cheerful assurance. It means moving forward instead of standing still, praying, working, believing and pressing on with hope, courage and faith, increasing in faith in order to work and wait in assurance and confidence with the Word of God as guide under all circumstances.
Genuine faith goes farther than sight and must be resurrected and reconstructed upon faith principles, applying not only to those with no knowledge of God and salvation but equally to ministers. It leaves self out, puts on Christ and has the mind that is in Christ Jesus, rebuilding life on faith rather than self with Christ's character shaping the believer. Right where he is it makes him a living epistle known and read of all men, bringing into every phase of character and work all possible attractiveness, even Jesus Christ, His meekness, His love and His unselfishness. It forbids battling for self when brethren in the faith make wrong moves or fail to appreciate the work, because that opinion does not change God's estimate of character, no human agent can make character darker or brighter, and no man is appointed to remake another. This faith redeems time from things seen and temporal to meditate on things unseen and eternal, resists an encroaching world that would separate from the source of strength, communes closely with Him who sees in secret, lays hold by faith on His might and makes peace with Him, holding fast to God as the only source of strength and reaching higher spirituality. It cares far more for the wisdom, holiness, fragrance and glory Christ longs to give every true heart hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and only this faith will carry through the closing scenes of this earth's history and give victory and the crown of life that fades not away as the believer presses toward the mark of the prize.
Faith is an ongoing walk from light to greater light unto the perfect day, in which those forgiven must continue advancing in faith and experience, following Christ the Light of the world and receiving truth that unfolds to those who follow Him, sanctified by the truth while Christ's blood cleanses from all unrighteousness. When a person ceases to walk by faith he becomes surrounded by darkness, with daily victories over self, pride and love of the world and renewal in knowledge and true holiness giving way to decrease when there is no increase. This high standard of humble, childlike trust wholly in God rather than reliance on what can be seen is beyond human strength, but it is no reason for discouragement, for Christ's presence and grace are essential and God supplies strength needed to overcome. Seeking unity belongs to that walk and must be sought in faith, for believers must have faith in order to walk by faith.
Those who grasp the meaning of redemption walk by faith under Christ's love more precious than gold or silver or precious stones, pressing the battle to the gates. This faith helps them recognize the vast needs of humanity and moves them with compassion for people suffering physical deprivation and moral peril. It brings uplifting, sanctifying grace into one's own life and into the lives of others, makes one all light in the Lord, and is kept by closing the windows of the soul earthward and opening them heavenward with continual rejoicing in the Lord. Walking by faith means acting while trusting God and looking to Him alone for guidance, wisdom and support, following principles of truth each day from conviction of duty. So lived, it shows others that Christ dwells in the heart by faith and is at work, rather than the person acting by self-reliance.
Endurance in Trial and Weakness
When health and outward circumstances give no assurance of success, walking by faith means acting in trust in God and His promises and continuing in the path of duty rather than judging by what is seen. It means not letting tired feelings, physical weakness, alarming appearances, limited strength, or obstacles decide duty, but going forward with the mind fixed on God and on Christ's strengthening power, which brings courage, peace, encouragement, and conviction beyond doubt that He will sustain. This was applied to venturing to attend camp meetings and to bear a needed testimony that no one else could bear, relying on God who could restore health if it served His glory, and to continuing the work of publishing truth despite serious illness and apparent efforts to hinder it. Though the husband was very weak and had to be helped into the wagon to go receive the paper, they trusted God and went, and he gained strength along the way and they completed their work, for faith clings to God's promise and can lead to victory.
In severe illness and pain with no immediate relief and no visible reason for confidence, faith holds to the naked promise and relies on it even when appearances suggest the opposite. It believes recovery will come while weakness and suffering continue, refuses to look at appearance, holds that God has heard prayer and has wrought and begun His work and will carry it on without asking Him to do again what has already been done, and prays for Him to carry it on. It declares recovery, acts on trust in duty even while still very weak by helping the sick person go forward, keeps the mind stayed upon God with faith in constant exercise, expects strength to increase step by step on the way, and petitions in silent prayer until deliverance comes. In this way Satan's effort to hinder God's work through sickness and fear is met and overcome, and strength and blessing follow through Christ.
When believers cannot see or act, faith trusts without being troubled by what can be seen or felt, rests calmly in Jesus, relies on God as helper and on His promises, and leaves the kind and timing of relief to Him. The soul should be strengthened by confidence that God will do what He has promised, and faith should be exercised rather than held back by fear. Walking constantly by faith through troubles and perplexities that cannot be prevented, including those that bring sleepless nights, is by watching and praying and relying safely on the Lord alone.
Christians are to follow the path God marks out by trusting Him rather than relying on what they can see, even when circumstances offer no visible way forward and providences are mysterious. When trials come God calls His people to go forward in trust, with prayer and the Holy Spirit's guidance giving confidence to do duty, finding rest in Christ and resolving problems that seem mysterious. Moving forward in faith brings relief from burdens and weariness, strengthens faith, prepares for service, and in time can help make mysterious providences clear, and the faith of God's servants in sacred history can work in believers now.
True workers act and walk and work by faith and rest wholly in the Lord as their only hope even when advancement is slow, financial straits press, false reports spread, hoped-for helpers withdraw, and the conflict between good and evil is strong. They need not fail, give up, or become discouraged while growing weary watching the slow advancement where the battle wages strong between righteousness and sin. While the unconverted view matters from the lowlands of human selfishness, unbelief, and indifference, where right principles and methods appear wrong, those who walk by faith view the promise from God's point of view. If they refuse to fail or be discouraged they will see the clouds of difficulty break away and God's promised deliverance come, seeing through the mist and cloud Satan throws across the pathway the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining through, until the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth.
The Lord helps those who trust in Him and continue by faith even when they cannot see the help they need, including when human sympathy and comfort are absent and faithful trust is required in distress. Trusting that the journey was a path of duty, they relied on God to accompany, sustain, and guide them and bring them safely home despite threatening weather, concern about ability to travel, and reasons for fear or discouragement from outward circumstances. James was raised up, preserved, and sustained through danger to continue serving God, helping the needy, strengthening God's servants, acting for God rather than by sight, and walking out faith in that work.
Learning to live by faith rather than by what is seen makes dark and painful hours brightest, with no hope except in Christ, for salvation is of grace through faith as the gift of God. Faith is not sight but the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is strengthened and grows by continuing to believe without depending on what can be seen, without seeing God's purpose in His dealings or the consequences of them; it looks ahead and upward to what is to come and to future and heavenly things, and takes hold of and relies on God's power to make believers complete in Him.
Faith in Gospel Work
God's workers are to trust Him rather than depend on what can presently be seen, carrying forward His work at every step in confidence that the Lord will provide and will not leave them. Walking by faith gives courage to continue appointed work through hardship and uncertainty, trusting God to help and bring them to triumph, and it means venturing for the sake of truth and relying on God to act rather than limiting work to what can be safely anticipated or working only in one's own strength. It calls for working and watching and praying, placing every entrusted talent in God's hands to be traded upon and multiplied by use, growing in spiritual efficiency instead of remaining weak or inefficient, with souls embracing truth as the result. Ministers must labor by this trust rather than by feeling, especially when work seems slow and hard at first, making entire surrender to God and striving earnestly to make the work as perfect as possible so God works mightily through them to save souls that would otherwise be lost. God's people are to keep walking by faith, trusting wholly in God as helper in every time of need rather than relying on their own ability or becoming fainthearted, and this trust supports courage and perseverance in advancing God's work despite mistakes, difficulties, and limited results. Christ's workers are to live and carry out their mission by faith rather than by visible evidence, looking to Jesus and trusting God as they work in new and untried places, relying on Christ's presence and power with Jesus as chief worker and the one responsible for success.
God's servants must move forward in faith when they cannot see the way perfectly clear, trusting the outcome to God. Fear of mistakes and blame must not keep them from taking responsibility and advancing the work that God's providence leads them to take. Errors should teach them, not make them avoid future burdens.
Walking by faith means arising at once to build neat, humble, attractive, convenient houses of worship that honor God, present to Him the very best offering, and represent the character of the elevated work without cheap, half-hearted work, trusting His presence and grace so that His salvation will be seen and sinners converted. Defective spiritual eyesight wants aftersight before foresight, but faith must be increased by the deep moving of the Spirit of God upon mind, heart, and character. It means arising and building God's meetinghouse at once instead of standing back in unbelief or waiting in hesitancy, beginning when the way looks uncertain and trusting God's providence to have skilled workmen already on the ground, to keep them from leaving for other jobs, to hold back rain by day while frame and roof are raised, and to bring the building to readiness for dedication and worship. It was put into practice in deciding to begin building before sufficient money was in hand, with a large gift arriving the next night to help provide for the work. It means pledging and investing money before means are seen, trusting God to provide, as in committing one thousand dollars for the work in Stanmore where lots are high and funds lacking, on the strength of expecting money previously given to the Bible Mission in Chicago to be returned and reused in this missionary field. It calls those who love God to practice self-denial and keep His commandments to glorify the Redeemer instead of living for self-pleasing, and to arise and build a humble, decent and orderly house in Melbourne for Sabbath worship and for Sunday services where those inclined to hear truth can come, because Sabbathkeepers are increasing and halls are neither convenient, suitable nor large enough. It means moving forward to proclaim present truth and give the warning message of the third angel to many souls who have not yet heard, even when every foot of ground costs seven to ten pounds and human sight says pushing forward is impossible, for God owns the earth's riches and entrusts them to people as stewards for His work.
It means beginning sanitariums, hospitals, schools and colleges small without money or workers in sight, trusting the Lord to open unseen methods, increase talents, and supply means as work proceeds. It means going forward with needed work for the sick even when money and workers are not in sight, securing a site for a hospital and preparing to build before means are obtained, asking church members for a dime each and willing givers for more, building as cheaply as possible at first to be succeeded later by a better building, and waiting and watching and praying in trust in God's living Word while feeling deeply the lack of men and money. Walking by faith in this work is humbly trusting and waiting and watching and praying, humbling the heart before the Lord and walking softly before Him, seeking the wisdom that God alone can give, not being impatient when tried, and putting trust in the Lord Jehovah in whom is everlasting strength. It means moving forward in reliance on the Lord's help even when means to complete the work are not yet available, as in beginning sanitarium construction without waiting for anyone, trusting God while seeking donations and loans from church members. It shows God's people must walk by faith in doing all reformatory work required for prosperity of God's cause and as blessing to those suffering disease, doing it according to the Lord's plans so it is a witness, with ministers taking in the situation, acting as leaders with intense interest in various lines of work, and setting an example that can be safely followed, including erecting a sanitarium as means of reaching every class with truth. It means moving forward when God opens a way even when needed money is not yet available, for in securing properties that could advance the cause faith sometimes required borrowing and acting despite perplexing problems, and hesitation could have lost valuable opportunities and delayed the work. Those who waited to see whether the school would succeed walked by sight, missed opportunity to invest in its beginning, and lost blessing and experience that would have come from trusting God and acting on help He provided.
It means moving forward when funds are lacking and debts remain, trusting God to move hearts, prepare the way, and provide repayment, rather than waiting until all money is in sight in the treasury. Walking by faith is distinguished from walking by sight in that going forward without money requires trusting God will work and prepare the way, while delay for want of means tests faith until it nearly stands still and many lose faith, whereas receiving funds opens the way to act with gratitude to God who moved hearts to supply need. When the Lord clearly calls for a certain work His people must obey as promptly and fully as the disciples did when Jesus called them away from fishing to follow Him. Faith encouraged investment in land for the cause and supported seeking pledges from people who did not yet have money in sight, while using wisdom to act at the right time. It allows borrowing money and paying interest to build chapels and carry on school work, investing both entrusted means and one's own instead of laying up anything, trusting that even when ten thousand dollars is owed and cannot possibly be repaid at once, when the loan is called payment can be made after a few months' notice, and the command to owe no man anything does not forbid this kind of working. It means acting on opportunities to obtain useful properties for sanitariums and schools even when money is not in hand, while relying on God's guidance and help. When funds are limited, decisions about the work such as plans for camp meetings and building a meetinghouse in Ashfield can still be made in faith rather than judged only by visible financial resources.
It means refusing to turn back to secular labor for security when God calls to write and publish present truth though there is no money, no strength, and no visible means of success, trusting Him to sustain life and protect from sickness. It means beginning to write in weakness and lameness, seeking Him in prayer for true meaning of difficult scriptures, and trusting Him to bless feeble efforts, send means for publishing, and bring souls to embrace truth. Though penniless and discouraged, the husband was to write, write, write and publish present truth rather than seek field labor, trusting God's direction and provision without relying on what could be seen. That obedient walk brings a hundredfold in this life and, if faithful, a rich reward in the kingdom, with blessing on feeble effort so silent messengers bring means and souls embracing truth.
It means obeying at cost, as when Sabbathkeepers keep the Sabbath though it costs employment and leaves no visible way to feed and support a family, yielding all for truth's sake and trusting the Lord alone to help in time of test and trial when the way forward cannot be seen. Faith means trusting and obeying God without letting visible hardship determine one's course, and those who face poverty, lost wages, and reproach must continue to obey God's commandments, with reward according with self-denial and sacrifice for truth.
Israel at the water failure near Canaan and the returned exiles in rebuilding the temple failed this faith. When Israel's water supply ceased near Canaan on the borders of the promised land before entering, they had opportunity to show belief in God's promise by remembering the hand that had supplied wants for so many years and seeking help from God, but instead they looked at wilderness with no seed or figs or vines or pomegranates and no water to drink, forgot His care, and complained and murmured against God. The returned exiles refused to move by faith and wanted to walk by sight and no further, so when enemies hindered them in building the temple they framed excuses about wrong timing and left the work, their real motive being selfish dislike of extra trouble, expense and danger. They treated opposition and difficulty as proof time was wrong, though these were no excuse to abandon work, and because they would not act beyond what they could see they were easily turned aside. Looking at things seen makes impossibilities appear, but God knows nothing of impossibilities, and His great work advances only by the push of faith in things hoped for though unseen. This history will be repeated whenever people lack faith and turn aside into religious failure.
It means sowing the message, circulating truth-filled books to spread the third angel's message, entering new fields and starting work among the neglected without seeing where means will come from, humbly waiting, watching and praying while trusting God to water the seed and give victory. It calls for persevering work based on confidence in what is unseen rather than waiting until every obstacle is removed, and for working with untiring diligence while time remains, helping relieve God's sanitarium and school from debt, helping others bear burdens, linking in holy union with God, exercising living faith that works by love and purifies the soul, and serving as an adaptable working corps trusting His promise to give victory. It means to move by faith and work by faith and plan by faith in starting work for the colored people in the South, beginning small without seeing where means will come from, trusting that when once started the Lord will open many methods for securing means now unseen and will increase talents of those disposed to work. The humble soul who keeps working in Christ's lines when opposition comes receives heavenly wisdom and shares light even under most discouraging circumstances, and that life of faith causes what is entrusted to grow, so one talent faithfully used becomes two and doubles again, and faithfulness with small sums as with large brings large revenue into the Lord's treasury. Faith in this instance includes trusting the Lord will sustain a person who goes forward to fulfill a message and remain loyal to God rather than letting appearances alone decide what to do.
It means humbly working, waiting, sacrificing and trusting God's power and grace to work with human effort under discouragement, financial straits and uncertain success rather than relying on ability or visible support. Continuing to preach and work for salvation of souls when there is no assurance of money or support, sacrificing means and even life to get truth before those who will hear, is walking by faith with devotion under discouraging circumstances. Failure to sacrifice and press forward when interest is deep but expense heavy shows lack of practical faith, and an opportunity to preach despite financial uncertainty could have provided practical experience in faith, but suspending work meant losing that opportunity. When the treasury looked depleted and circumstances seemed dark, faith should have led them to speak courageously, pray, and wait for wise action instead of becoming afraid or moving rashly, for the Lord's work belongs to Him and can safely be left in His hands.
So long as God's people are in this world with conflict and trouble and deception from false tongues, duty is to trust God and rest in Him and be still instead of trying to deal with untruthful people themselves, leaving the sinner with God because Jesus alone can bear sins and God reads the heart. They are to refuse to fear that the Lord's work is in jeopardy or that issue of conflict is in their hands, certain of glorious victory because in His own time God will deal with the deceiver and will reward every man according to his work.
While the church is still militant, believers must journey by faith amid trials and misunderstandings instead of letting suspicion guide them, clinging to the Mighty One every moment and never letting go. They receive courage and wisdom from Him to preserve strength in difficulty, to unload every burden possible, to shun all avoidable responsibilities, and to do the great work to be done slowly and considerately without confusion, unwisdom, or overloading. This calls for trusting and clinging to God continually while facing difficulties rather than relying on what can be seen, carrying responsibilities wisely, moving slowly and considerately, avoiding burdens that can be laid aside, and relying on God for courage and guidance.
Ministers entrusted with special message of mercy and warning walk by faith laboring to be accepted by Christ whether present or absent, keeping the day of judgment before the people and awakening the world from sleep of death with a work that will live through eternal ages. This is because all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive according to things done in the body whether good or bad, and all will meet the Judge of the living and dead at His appearing in His kingdom to receive according to works. Believers follow God's heavenly guidance by faith rather than by what mortal eyes can see, for the light guiding their pathway is unseen to ordinary sight but discerned by faith, and those who follow it are light in the Lord.
Walking by faith governs material risk with equity: leaders who risk everything themselves may ask workers to risk something, but it is wrong for leaders to exercise no faith by demanding a fixed sum for board while requiring workers to exercise faith. Equity and justice belong to walking by faith, paying workers a stated sum to meet living expenses, accepting only trustworthy workers, and not leaving all sacrificing and walking by faith to inexperienced workers, accepting sacrifice and uncertainty about living expenses and board while trusting Him to provide.
Faith and prayer keep workers dependent on God; they are to pray as though efficiency and praise come from Him, while laboring as though duty is theirs, believing and acting in faith so they may receive power and blessings God provides. They are to refuse to look on the discouraging side when what can be seen is unpromising, and instead walk, talk, act, and live faith despite having nothing flattering in sight, such as few patients. They are to act in faith rather than judge by what can presently be seen, looking beyond visible obstacles to unseen realities of God's purposes, power, and resources, trusting Him to provide and advance His work even when prospects appear dark.
Hope of the Unseen Eternal
To walk by faith rather than by sight is to live as though seeing the invisible God, as Moses did, taking in by faith the glories of the future eternal world. It is hope for what is not yet seen, drawing encouragement from the promises when events bring pain or discouragement by keeping attention fixed on Jesus as author and finisher of faith. That faith which looks forward to the eternal world is strengthened by searching Scripture and beholding Christ, by which the beholder is changed.
To enter the city of God and look upon Jesus in His glory there, the glory must first be learned to be beheld here with the eye of faith. This requires earnest effort to obtain assurance of God's love, for when the mind has long dwelt only on earthly things it is difficult to change the habits of thought, since what the eye sees and the ear hears attracts the attention and absorbs the interest. Becoming accustomed to beholding Christ means making His words and character often the subject of thought and of conversation, and devoting some time each day especially to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.
Knowing Christ by faith as the glorified Redeemer gives a closer and more lasting communion with Him than mere physical sight or earthly acquaintance during His life on earth could give. He came in ordinary human appearance so that faith would not rest on an impressive or heavenly outward form, but people would be drawn by the evidence of His character and of God's word rather than by His looks.
By faith believers look beyond visible troubles, discouragement and circumstances to what is unseen and eternal, looking to Jesus and trusting God's promises while waiting for His help and salvation. Faith joined with obedience brings the beholding of the Lord's glory and changing into His image by the Spirit. That life of faith is a preparation of Christlike character for the hope of entering the saints' home above.
To walk by faith and not by sight is to live by trust in God rather than by what can be seen, as the normal Christian walk sustained by prayer and the Word. Faith is not sight, for it rests on trust rather than on demonstration, and wanting to go only as far as can be seen to be safe leaves God no opportunity to act. Feeling is no criterion to govern life, for feelings change with circumstances while God does not change, so assurance of pardon and acceptance rests on His Word whether feeling gives reassurance or not. Walking by faith means taking God at His Word, believing He means just what He says, planting the feet on His promises and looking to Jesus to be changed into His likeness. It is practical rather than abstract, showing its result in obedience, keeping God's commandments, walking uprightly in the light, and looking beyond visible troubles to what is unseen and eternal.
Meaning of Walking by Faith
The verse calls believers to live by trust in God rather than by what can be seen, as the normal Christian walk. That walk is sustained through prayer and grounded in the teachings of the Word, accompanying personal knowledge of Christ and sanctification, and it requires energetic, unwavering confidence especially in danger and spiritual sleep, relying on God and not on self for strength, victory and qualification for service, and trusting Him amid trials, temptations and difficulties in working with one another instead of letting distrust, jealousy or offense take the place of faith. Faith enables living as though seeing the invisible God and taking in the glories of the future eternal world, joined to hope for what is not yet seen, and it means looking beyond outward appearances even when hardship and opposition make the situation seem discouraging.
Faith is not sight, for sight would end faith. It rests on probability rather than on demonstration, for if it rested on demonstration it would cease to be faith. This working faith keeps the love of Jesus in the heart as worth everything, makes patience under pain possible without distressing the soul with constant worrying because Christ is at the right hand to help in every emergency, and requires daily education to walk as in the sight of God while expecting often to be disappointed in men and in their piety and religious experience. It means redeeming time from things seen and temporal to meditate on things unseen and eternal, resisting an encroaching world, putting on Christ, communing closely with Him who sees in secret, laying hold by faith on His might and making peace with Him, holding fast to God as the only source of strength right where one is.
Walking by sight means going only as far and as fast as can be seen to be safe, which leaves God no opportunity to act and marks all efforts with errors and imperfections. Walking by faith advances as far as workers can see and then goes beyond sight, taking hold of the work as of vital importance with zeal and earnestness that will bear the test of the Judgment, giving the Lord opportunity to do something, going farther than can be seen and venturing something for truth's sake as part of religious experience, without giving way to unbelief despite limited means and discouragement and without waiting to see the whole way or the outcome in advance. The returned exiles failed this in rebuilding the temple, wanting to walk by sight and no further, so when trouble, expense, danger and opposition appeared they framed excuses about wrong timing and left the work from selfish dislike of extra trouble, expense and danger; looking at things seen makes impossibilities appear, but God knows nothing of impossibilities and His great work advances only by the push of faith in things hoped for though unseen, a history repeated whenever people lack faith.
Wanting to walk by sight is unbelief that is offensive to God, dishonors His name, distrusts His Word, withholds the heart from Him, and keeps believers from advancing in Christian experience. Living by what is seen believes only things seen and does not appreciate His promises, while living by trust believes and values the precious promises though unseen, believes He means just what He says and is in earnest and does not deceive, with confidence in Him as a tender Father who does not forsake those who trust Him, together with confession of sin and humility of heart; showing distrust and questioning whether He means it dishonors Him most decidedly, darkens experience and limits what is received from His power, so difficulties should drive prayer for strengthened faith and power to overcome. Walking by trust develops faith, obedience and love equal to talents, light and grace received, following shining light so experience grows brighter and brighter unto the perfect day with renewal in knowledge and true holiness and daily victories over self, pride and love of the world, opening heaven and bringing fulfillment of rich promises with nothing wanting; without increase of faith light and blessings decrease and condemnation is proportioned to grace and truth bestowed.
Believers now live in a mortal, imperfect, cloudy state by faith, in contrast to the coming immortal, perfect state of open glory when they will see face to face. Trusting without seeing is a discipline laid on everyone, because heaven, the saints' eternal home of perfect love, holiness, peace, endless bliss, infinite glory, riches and knowledge, cannot be described by deepest study and broadest experience nor grasped by the senses and is known now only in part. God gives enough evidence to accept truth but does not remove every reason for doubt, for then faith would not be needed; what His Word clearly establishes is to be trusted without demanding that every difficulty be resolved or that finite minds fathom His counsels. Going forward by faith is not without evidence, because those who go forward have with them the assured presence of Christ and the power of His salvation with blessed assurance.
Walking by faith does not mean closing the eyes to what is around; believers are to look carefully, keeping attention on the Saviour who guides into truth, trusting and obeying step by step even when the reason for a command or the future is not yet clear, until the way becomes plain and faith leads toward salvation. Abraham's departure for an unknown country shows this trust in action, relying on God's knowledge and watching for divine guidance. Refusing to trust beyond what is visible blocks conviction and improvement, for obstinacy rejects what sight cannot take in and clings to its own plans and opinions even when there is good reason to recognize they are wrong. Defective spiritual eyesight wants aftersight before foresight, whereas faith must be increased by the deep moving of the Spirit upon mind, heart and character, as in trusting God's presence and grace to build a neat, humble, attractive and convenient house of worship that honors Him, presents the very best offering and represents the elevated work without cheap half-hearted work, so that His salvation will be seen and sinners converted.
In the Second Advent experience believers up to the autumn of 1844 walked as it were by sight in the blazing light of unsealed prophecy and rapidly fulfilling signs that Christ's coming was at the doors. Afterward with disappointed hopes and stricken hearts they must live by faith in the sure word and in God's work in that experience. Those who hold fast by faith please God and believe to the saving of the soul, while those who grow impatient, cast away confidence in the way God has led and draw back, meet His displeasure and perdition.
Faith Above Feeling and Sight
To walk by faith is to refuse to be controlled by feeling, for feeling is no criterion and is never to govern or guide life. Feelings and affections themselves must be governed rather than allowed to control, since they change with circumstances and with visible dangers and fearful feelings. They can be played upon to bring disappointment and discouragement and to gain the victory, leaving those without moral power to rise above poor feelings unfitted to overcome the perils of the last days and the temptations of Satan. Intelligent faith is therefore needed so that when the battle goes hard believers do not look at the things which are seen and lose courage, for without faith it is impossible to please God; faith must be strengthened by practice so that when severe tests come believers trust Jesus as personal Saviour and righteousness rather than dwelling on imperfect lives and losing hope. This trust is simple obedience and entire trust like a little child's in its parents, staying humble, drawing close to God, finding all strength wholly in Him, doing practical duties, and receiving Christ as personal Saviour on God's Word even when feeling gives no reassurance; it brings help when needed and peace in the heart expressed in love, joy and peace, as Enoch's life shows in the testimony that he pleased God, and looking to Jesus who can save completely gives hope and assurance.
Depending on emotions as evidence of answered prayer is unbelief, since faith trusts God without waiting for visible proof or a change in feelings. Feelings vary with circumstances while God does not change, so a feeling of assurance is good and to be praised for, yet depressed feelings do not mean God has changed and He is to be praised just as much in depression as in assurance. Walking by faith is a covenant to live by trust in His Word, remaining firm even when circumstances seem impossible or dark, moving forward in humble obedience while expecting Him to answer, sustain and bless, and in trials, discouragement and grief refusing to conclude that joy in the Lord is impossible but being driven to Christ, since failing to turn to Him brings loss.
Darkness and discouragement, a deep sense of unworthiness and terror, and the loss of yesterday's peace and joy are no evidence that God has changed toward the believer or the believer toward God. Whether there is feeling or no feeling, the Christian keeps trusting Christ and resting in the promises, keeping confidence, keeping the eye fixed on Jesus, faithfully performing every known duty, grasping the hand of Christ and trusting Him as fully in darkness as in light. The mind is not to be forced up to a certain intensity of emotion, and in suffering faith rests on God as helper and leaves the kind and timing of relief to Him without being troubled by what can be seen or felt.
Walking by faith means ceasing fretting, complaining, murmuring, fretfulness and gloom, earnestly remedying every defect of character, and putting away what represents the prince of darkness rather than Christ the Prince of light. No word of unbelief or discouragement is to escape the lips, for such expression dishonors Jesus and pleases Satan, and doubts coming into the mind are not to be expressed to gratify him; instead believers are to talk faith, hope and courage, believe and receive every word of God's promises as certain that Christ will do just as He said, and let every action testify to belief and trust. They resist depressing influences by willpower, gain moral power through labor and study of the Scriptures, pray in faith for strength, dismiss the tempter, refuse to talk trials, speak pleasant words, seek to help and bless one another, comfort poor doubting troubled souls with assurance that Christ will not leave them comfortless but will come to them, gather every ray of light to flash upon the pathway of others, and walk in the light and in the sunshine of the Lord's presence in cheerfulness and happiness so that the peace and joy shining in the face of Jesus is reflected and casts no shadow to darken the pathway of others.
Assurance of pardon and acceptance rests on God's Word, not on feeling. The sinner who has sincerely repented and confessed is to hold it a duty to believe that Jesus who died for sinners will pardon transgressions, believe God forgives and receives him as His child, surrender to Him, rest the case with Him, and find rest and peace in Christ whether feeling gives reassurance or not. This means saying both that I am a sinner and that I have a Saviour, trusting that the Lord wants the sinner saved, believing His promises and the plain Thus saith the Lord instead of requiring a certain state of feeling to prove acceptance, refusing impressions of unbelief and feeling that eclipse confidence in the Word of the living God, putting confidence in Christ who gave His life for sinners, believing and receiving His Word and taking hold of the divine Word as true, giving self anew to God, being loyal and true to His Word, and holding firmly to the freedom Christ gives while trusting the Lord to show His salvation. Claiming to believe on Christ is of no avail unless the claims of God's law are acknowledged and its precepts daily striven to be obeyed, for this walk is lived out by keeping God's commandments, which when obeyed are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh.
Faith and feeling are as distinct as east from west and must not be confounded together. Walking by faith means not suffering feeling to govern, especially in the darkest hours, but exercising faith to press through the dark clouds to the throne of God and claim the blessing of heaven. When faith grasps the blessing the blessing is ours because faith has got hold of it, and when faith brings the blessing down and the dark clouds scatter and divine rays of light from Jesus illumine the darkness, it is no more faith but feeling, for evidence has come and feeling has swallowed up faith.
Trusting Christ and His Promises
Walking by faith means taking God at His Word, believing that He means just what He says and is in earnest and does not deceive, valuing His precious promises though they are unseen, and holding fast to Christ once He is received. Living by what is seen is believing only things that are seen and not appreciating His promises, while showing distrust in what He says and questioning whether He means it dishonors Him most decidedly and causes great loss. Obeying the written Word rather than relying on what can be seen or felt, looking to Jesus, offering prayers in confidence, taking hold of His strength, and rejoicing in known blessings bring greater cheerfulness and strength, and even when the body is in constant pain and growing more feeble and sight shows disease and coming death, faith still holds to the naked promise with firm confidence, thirsting for assurance of love, declaring recovery while still without relief, and continuing in silent prayer until deliverance comes.
Faith plants the feet upon the promises, bears the whole weight upon them regardless of feeling, calls upon the Lord trusting the promise will be verified, and seeks the Lord with all the heart so He will be found. When healing has been prayed for, it holds that God has heard and has wrought and will carry on the work begun, without asking Him to do again what is already done, and it acts on that trust in duty even while still very weak, keeping the mind stayed upon God with faith in constant exercise and expecting strength to increase step by step on the way. It believes God hears and will do what He promised even when feeling and sight give no proof, trusting the promise and going about daily business confident the prayed-for blessing will come when most needed, keeping the mind on His love, mercy and promises and beholding Jesus who takes away sin instead of looking at thorns, difficulties and darkness. In this way doubt, discouragement and gloom are replaced by joy, trials are met as drawings near to God rather than signs of His anger, Satan's effort to hinder through sickness and fear is met and overcome, and strength and blessing follow through Christ with the whole being put on the Lord's side under His control with no reservation of mind, thoughts or affections.
Believers are to look to Jesus and trust God rather than be governed by visible troubles, discouragement or circumstances, looking beyond what is seen to what is unseen and eternal while waiting for His help and salvation. This means keeping a strong hold on God rather than looking at tumultuous waves of trouble, trusting that one touch, one word, one look from Him can remove disease, despondency and gloom, looking up rather than down and fixing attention on eternal things. They are to see by faith the invisible God as Moses did, keeping attention on Jesus the author and finisher of faith, drawing encouragement from the promises when events cause pain, and being strengthened through searching Scripture and beholding Christ. By beholding the Lord's glory they are changed into His image by the Spirit, which prepares a Christlike character for the hope of entering the saints' home above, and faith is further strengthened by studying the Word and practicing its teachings, remembering that the just live by faith.
God is to be depended on day by day for present necessities, placing entire dependence upon Jesus Christ and expecting strength and provision to come as fast as circumstances demand. The arrangement is to ask Him for the very things needed now, because strength for a future emergency is not given beforehand and the grace of tomorrow will not be given today. Man's necessity is God's opportunity, with strength proportioned to the day.
True holiness is not spiritual ecstasy under extraordinary circumstances and not rapture, but includes trusting God in trial and in darkness as well as in the light, relying on Him with unquestioning confidence and resting in His love. It includes entire surrender of the will to God, living by every word from His mouth, doing the will of the heavenly Father, committing the way to the Lord as Helper, placing only hope in Him because He never disappoints, and having the cleansing blood of Christ applied to the heart so that He works out salvation and becomes sanctification and righteousness. In affliction and uncertainty a person can rest in God's care and mercy and choose to walk with Him even in darkness rather than go alone in the light.
Growth in Christian experience comes by trusting without demanding to see the way, for wanting visible proof instead of faith holds believers back and explains why they do not advance more rapidly. Understanding comes only as the soul acts in faith, depending on the gracious power of Jesus Christ to combine with human effort, and such movement God owns and the Holy Spirit confirms by convicting hearts of helplessness apart from Christ. Those who trust in Christ's might and righteousness while destitute of love, who confess faith and pray with simple trust that takes God at His word, receive light, softened and melted hearts, assurance of acceptance, love for brethren, and joyful testimony.
God's leadings are generally mysterious and hidden, and His work is not to be limited nor His ways marked out by human devising, but He is to be left to work in His own way. Believers must venture out upon His Word and walk forward by faith, obeying the truths committed to them, going forward in hope, watchful prayer and gratitude even when apparent impossibilities obstruct the way, and allowing God to direct the warfare. He knows better than they what is good and essential to establish characters fit for the heavenly courts, and He never leads otherwise than they would wish to be led if they could see as clearly as He does. The work is aggressive so no one can stand neutral, indifferent or non-committal and yet be a soldier, for that gains no victories, but those who keep in close connection hear His voice, keep in step with their Captain, go forward in the conflict to fight the battles of the Lord, and reveal a victory of faith that influences others to follow, even when some bearers of truth fail and others from the darkness of error are converted to lift the banner.
Human beings are finite and do not now discern what would be seen if the curtain were rolled back, nor understand now what will be understood hereafter. They are to walk with the hidden God by faith as if He were close beside them, without requiring a personal or miraculous display of His presence, for a full revelation would be more than could be borne. The soul must trust the unerring Guide, Jesus Christ the wise safe Leader who says Fear not and promises to be with and to help, connecting the believer by the golden chain of mercy and pardon with all heavenly agencies with the comfort that He will not leave His own comfortless.
Walking by faith means exercising a living, active faith that works by love and purifies the soul, seeking the Lord, believing His promises, watching unto prayer, understanding personal duty, stepping into the allotted place, and working without expecting to have sight before exercising trusting belief. It means relying on Christ for strength and protection amid temptation and unseen spiritual conflict without knowing which course will prosper, while watching, believing and continuing to work, and not growing weary in well-doing but always abounding in the work of the Lord since every day brings responsibilities only God can give strength to fulfill. Prayer is joined to walking and to working, and talking faith and walking by faith in all work keeps the glory of God in view with the Word as guide, speaking and acting so as to fasten conviction on hearts and consciences. Such walking brings the Holy Spirit's guidance and success through strict regard for the fear of God who searches hearts, so that those who become intelligent in service and walk humbly in the light graciously given will not be left to labor in human strength, and they work with expectation of accomplishing great things because the time to labor is very short.
Following Jesus means trusting His promises and His providence without requiring visible evidence or knowing in advance what will happen. In serving God believers recognize their weakness and depend on Him rather than themselves for strength, qualification and ability to serve. They look to Christ, who won salvation through His death, and receive that salvation by faith.
Obedience and Holy Character
Walking by faith is practical rather than abstract, a trust that attaches itself to actions and shows its result in obedience. It means ceasing to sin and refusing to continue in sin that grace may increase, abhorring and casting away sin because it caused the sufferings of the Redeemer, and warring against the inclinations of the natural heart. It is learned step by step by one who esteems truth enough to step out upon it from conviction of duty and make every sacrifice for it, instead of waiting for a convenient position with no cross. Christ so lives in the believer by faith that in eating and drinking and doing all things to the glory of God, Christ is first and last and best in everything.
This walk is lived out by a Thus saith the Lord rather than by feeling or sight, resting upon the promises and taking hold of the divine Word as true instead of waiting to feel accepted before believing. Feeling and impressions of unbelief eclipse confidence in the Word of the living God, while those who believe and receive His Word are numbered among the receiving ones. Keeping God's commandments is the expression of this walk, for obeyed they are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh, to be treasured as the apple of the eye. In them believers stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free and enter into life.
Walking by faith is walking in the light, earnestly choosing and striving with thought, willpower and endeavor to represent Christ in sweetness of character, putting away all gloom and making spiritual progress instead of resting satisfied in merely saying I am a child of God. It includes walking uprightly, in the way of the Lord, in the Spirit, in the truth, in love, and in newness of life, perfecting holiness in the fear of God while patiently pursuing the race with attention fixed on Christ. By beholding Jesus believers become changed into His likeness, and speaking faith helps faith grow so the life shines for others.
Moses exemplifies reaching beyond what is seen to what is unseen and grasping eternal realities, turning from earthly riches, grandeur and prospects when there was little visible prospect of worldly gain. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, abandoning adoption into the royal family, training in Egyptian learning, power in words and deeds, and prospect of throne, imperial dignity and treasures, forsaking Egypt without fearing the wrath of the king. He chose to suffer affliction with the people of God and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches, appreciating the promise of a heavenly inheritance and the recompense of the reward. Such a course comes from no ordinary influence but requires the inspiration of Heaven and divine power alone, bringing eternity into the reckoning, refusing to let the earthly eclipse the heavenly or to risk the crown of glory that fadeth not away for an earthly crown and scepter, and enduring by seeing Him who is invisible. Enoch likewise shows simple obedience and trust rather than guidance by feelings, a life that brings help from God when needed and peace in the heart expressed in love, joy and peace, so that those who learn this way may have the testimony that they pleased God.
Daily faith means living for today rather than becoming anxious about future trouble, seeking victory over self, praying, fighting the fight of faith, and trusting that God blesses and helps. It means being of good courage in the Lord because Christ gave His life and heavenly agencies are promised to those who try to be what the Lord expects, who belong to Him body, soul and spirit and make Him their trust. It means going to the Lord in humility for strength to resist temptations when they come, taking everything to Him in prayer and believing He helps, telling Him all trials and expressing gratitude by words of thanksgiving. It means keeping the mind stayed upon the Saviour, arming oneself with His promises by committing His words to memory, cherishing faith and trust in Christ as teacher and being willing to be taught, refusing to look on the dark side and overcoming darkness and unbelief, and so being an overcomer every day prepared to meet the Master's requirements and bless those around.
A person can live amid temporal visible things while walking with God by faith with eternity in view, trusting His truth rather than being swept away by the doubt and skepticism of the age. Doing God's will brings knowledge of the doctrine and steadiness on the rock of eternal truth. This faith hides self with Christ in God and produces indwelling godliness, steadfast purpose, sanctified relationships, and fair, humble decisions. Walking by faith is both duty and privilege shaping how believers speak, act and live, bringing increased faith, confidence and cheerful assurance. It means moving forward instead of standing still, praying, working, believing and pressing on with hope, courage and faith, increasing in faith in order to work and wait in assurance and confidence with the Word of God as guide under all circumstances.
Genuine faith goes farther than sight and must be resurrected and reconstructed upon faith principles, applying not only to those with no knowledge of God and salvation but equally to ministers. It leaves self out, puts on Christ and has the mind that is in Christ Jesus, rebuilding life on faith rather than self with Christ's character shaping the believer. Right where he is it makes him a living epistle known and read of all men, bringing into every phase of character and work all possible attractiveness, even Jesus Christ, His meekness, His love and His unselfishness. It forbids battling for self when brethren in the faith make wrong moves or fail to appreciate the work, because that opinion does not change God's estimate of character, no human agent can make character darker or brighter, and no man is appointed to remake another. This faith redeems time from things seen and temporal to meditate on things unseen and eternal, resists an encroaching world that would separate from the source of strength, communes closely with Him who sees in secret, lays hold by faith on His might and makes peace with Him, holding fast to God as the only source of strength and reaching higher spirituality. It cares far more for the wisdom, holiness, fragrance and glory Christ longs to give every true heart hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and only this faith will carry through the closing scenes of this earth's history and give victory and the crown of life that fades not away as the believer presses toward the mark of the prize.
Faith is an ongoing walk from light to greater light unto the perfect day, in which those forgiven must continue advancing in faith and experience, following Christ the Light of the world and receiving truth that unfolds to those who follow Him, sanctified by the truth while Christ's blood cleanses from all unrighteousness. When a person ceases to walk by faith he becomes surrounded by darkness, with daily victories over self, pride and love of the world and renewal in knowledge and true holiness giving way to decrease when there is no increase. This high standard of humble, childlike trust wholly in God rather than reliance on what can be seen is beyond human strength, but it is no reason for discouragement, for Christ's presence and grace are essential and God supplies strength needed to overcome. Seeking unity belongs to that walk and must be sought in faith, for believers must have faith in order to walk by faith.
Those who grasp the meaning of redemption walk by faith under Christ's love more precious than gold or silver or precious stones, pressing the battle to the gates. This faith helps them recognize the vast needs of humanity and moves them with compassion for people suffering physical deprivation and moral peril. It brings uplifting, sanctifying grace into one's own life and into the lives of others, makes one all light in the Lord, and is kept by closing the windows of the soul earthward and opening them heavenward with continual rejoicing in the Lord. Walking by faith means acting while trusting God and looking to Him alone for guidance, wisdom and support, following principles of truth each day from conviction of duty. So lived, it shows others that Christ dwells in the heart by faith and is at work, rather than the person acting by self-reliance.
Endurance in Trial and Weakness
When health and outward circumstances give no assurance of success, walking by faith means acting in trust in God and His promises and continuing in the path of duty rather than judging by what is seen. It means not letting tired feelings, physical weakness, alarming appearances, limited strength, or obstacles decide duty, but going forward with the mind fixed on God and on Christ's strengthening power, which brings courage, peace, encouragement, and conviction beyond doubt that He will sustain. This was applied to venturing to attend camp meetings and to bear a needed testimony that no one else could bear, relying on God who could restore health if it served His glory, and to continuing the work of publishing truth despite serious illness and apparent efforts to hinder it. Though the husband was very weak and had to be helped into the wagon to go receive the paper, they trusted God and went, and he gained strength along the way and they completed their work, for faith clings to God's promise and can lead to victory.
In severe illness and pain with no immediate relief and no visible reason for confidence, faith holds to the naked promise and relies on it even when appearances suggest the opposite. It believes recovery will come while weakness and suffering continue, refuses to look at appearance, holds that God has heard prayer and has wrought and begun His work and will carry it on without asking Him to do again what has already been done, and prays for Him to carry it on. It declares recovery, acts on trust in duty even while still very weak by helping the sick person go forward, keeps the mind stayed upon God with faith in constant exercise, expects strength to increase step by step on the way, and petitions in silent prayer until deliverance comes. In this way Satan's effort to hinder God's work through sickness and fear is met and overcome, and strength and blessing follow through Christ.
When believers cannot see or act, faith trusts without being troubled by what can be seen or felt, rests calmly in Jesus, relies on God as helper and on His promises, and leaves the kind and timing of relief to Him. The soul should be strengthened by confidence that God will do what He has promised, and faith should be exercised rather than held back by fear. Walking constantly by faith through troubles and perplexities that cannot be prevented, including those that bring sleepless nights, is by watching and praying and relying safely on the Lord alone.
Christians are to follow the path God marks out by trusting Him rather than relying on what they can see, even when circumstances offer no visible way forward and providences are mysterious. When trials come God calls His people to go forward in trust, with prayer and the Holy Spirit's guidance giving confidence to do duty, finding rest in Christ and resolving problems that seem mysterious. Moving forward in faith brings relief from burdens and weariness, strengthens faith, prepares for service, and in time can help make mysterious providences clear, and the faith of God's servants in sacred history can work in believers now.
True workers act and walk and work by faith and rest wholly in the Lord as their only hope even when advancement is slow, financial straits press, false reports spread, hoped-for helpers withdraw, and the conflict between good and evil is strong. They need not fail, give up, or become discouraged while growing weary watching the slow advancement where the battle wages strong between righteousness and sin. While the unconverted view matters from the lowlands of human selfishness, unbelief, and indifference, where right principles and methods appear wrong, those who walk by faith view the promise from God's point of view. If they refuse to fail or be discouraged they will see the clouds of difficulty break away and God's promised deliverance come, seeing through the mist and cloud Satan throws across the pathway the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining through, until the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth.
The Lord helps those who trust in Him and continue by faith even when they cannot see the help they need, including when human sympathy and comfort are absent and faithful trust is required in distress. Trusting that the journey was a path of duty, they relied on God to accompany, sustain, and guide them and bring them safely home despite threatening weather, concern about ability to travel, and reasons for fear or discouragement from outward circumstances. James was raised up, preserved, and sustained through danger to continue serving God, helping the needy, strengthening God's servants, acting for God rather than by sight, and walking out faith in that work.
Learning to live by faith rather than by what is seen makes dark and painful hours brightest, with no hope except in Christ, for salvation is of grace through faith as the gift of God. Faith is not sight but the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is strengthened and grows by continuing to believe without depending on what can be seen, without seeing God's purpose in His dealings or the consequences of them; it looks ahead and upward to what is to come and to future and heavenly things, and takes hold of and relies on God's power to make believers complete in Him.
Faith in Gospel Work
God's workers are to trust Him rather than depend on what can presently be seen, carrying forward His work at every step in confidence that the Lord will provide and will not leave them. Walking by faith gives courage to continue appointed work through hardship and uncertainty, trusting God to help and bring them to triumph, and it means venturing for the sake of truth and relying on God to act rather than limiting work to what can be safely anticipated or working only in one's own strength. It calls for working and watching and praying, placing every entrusted talent in God's hands to be traded upon and multiplied by use, growing in spiritual efficiency instead of remaining weak or inefficient, with souls embracing truth as the result. Ministers must labor by this trust rather than by feeling, especially when work seems slow and hard at first, making entire surrender to God and striving earnestly to make the work as perfect as possible so God works mightily through them to save souls that would otherwise be lost. God's people are to keep walking by faith, trusting wholly in God as helper in every time of need rather than relying on their own ability or becoming fainthearted, and this trust supports courage and perseverance in advancing God's work despite mistakes, difficulties, and limited results. Christ's workers are to live and carry out their mission by faith rather than by visible evidence, looking to Jesus and trusting God as they work in new and untried places, relying on Christ's presence and power with Jesus as chief worker and the one responsible for success.
God's servants must move forward in faith when they cannot see the way perfectly clear, trusting the outcome to God. Fear of mistakes and blame must not keep them from taking responsibility and advancing the work that God's providence leads them to take. Errors should teach them, not make them avoid future burdens.
Walking by faith means arising at once to build neat, humble, attractive, convenient houses of worship that honor God, present to Him the very best offering, and represent the character of the elevated work without cheap, half-hearted work, trusting His presence and grace so that His salvation will be seen and sinners converted. Defective spiritual eyesight wants aftersight before foresight, but faith must be increased by the deep moving of the Spirit of God upon mind, heart, and character. It means arising and building God's meetinghouse at once instead of standing back in unbelief or waiting in hesitancy, beginning when the way looks uncertain and trusting God's providence to have skilled workmen already on the ground, to keep them from leaving for other jobs, to hold back rain by day while frame and roof are raised, and to bring the building to readiness for dedication and worship. It was put into practice in deciding to begin building before sufficient money was in hand, with a large gift arriving the next night to help provide for the work. It means pledging and investing money before means are seen, trusting God to provide, as in committing one thousand dollars for the work in Stanmore where lots are high and funds lacking, on the strength of expecting money previously given to the Bible Mission in Chicago to be returned and reused in this missionary field. It calls those who love God to practice self-denial and keep His commandments to glorify the Redeemer instead of living for self-pleasing, and to arise and build a humble, decent and orderly house in Melbourne for Sabbath worship and for Sunday services where those inclined to hear truth can come, because Sabbathkeepers are increasing and halls are neither convenient, suitable nor large enough. It means moving forward to proclaim present truth and give the warning message of the third angel to many souls who have not yet heard, even when every foot of ground costs seven to ten pounds and human sight says pushing forward is impossible, for God owns the earth's riches and entrusts them to people as stewards for His work.
It means beginning sanitariums, hospitals, schools and colleges small without money or workers in sight, trusting the Lord to open unseen methods, increase talents, and supply means as work proceeds. It means going forward with needed work for the sick even when money and workers are not in sight, securing a site for a hospital and preparing to build before means are obtained, asking church members for a dime each and willing givers for more, building as cheaply as possible at first to be succeeded later by a better building, and waiting and watching and praying in trust in God's living Word while feeling deeply the lack of men and money. Walking by faith in this work is humbly trusting and waiting and watching and praying, humbling the heart before the Lord and walking softly before Him, seeking the wisdom that God alone can give, not being impatient when tried, and putting trust in the Lord Jehovah in whom is everlasting strength. It means moving forward in reliance on the Lord's help even when means to complete the work are not yet available, as in beginning sanitarium construction without waiting for anyone, trusting God while seeking donations and loans from church members. It shows God's people must walk by faith in doing all reformatory work required for prosperity of God's cause and as blessing to those suffering disease, doing it according to the Lord's plans so it is a witness, with ministers taking in the situation, acting as leaders with intense interest in various lines of work, and setting an example that can be safely followed, including erecting a sanitarium as means of reaching every class with truth. It means moving forward when God opens a way even when needed money is not yet available, for in securing properties that could advance the cause faith sometimes required borrowing and acting despite perplexing problems, and hesitation could have lost valuable opportunities and delayed the work. Those who waited to see whether the school would succeed walked by sight, missed opportunity to invest in its beginning, and lost blessing and experience that would have come from trusting God and acting on help He provided.
It means moving forward when funds are lacking and debts remain, trusting God to move hearts, prepare the way, and provide repayment, rather than waiting until all money is in sight in the treasury. Walking by faith is distinguished from walking by sight in that going forward without money requires trusting God will work and prepare the way, while delay for want of means tests faith until it nearly stands still and many lose faith, whereas receiving funds opens the way to act with gratitude to God who moved hearts to supply need. When the Lord clearly calls for a certain work His people must obey as promptly and fully as the disciples did when Jesus called them away from fishing to follow Him. Faith encouraged investment in land for the cause and supported seeking pledges from people who did not yet have money in sight, while using wisdom to act at the right time. It allows borrowing money and paying interest to build chapels and carry on school work, investing both entrusted means and one's own instead of laying up anything, trusting that even when ten thousand dollars is owed and cannot possibly be repaid at once, when the loan is called payment can be made after a few months' notice, and the command to owe no man anything does not forbid this kind of working. It means acting on opportunities to obtain useful properties for sanitariums and schools even when money is not in hand, while relying on God's guidance and help. When funds are limited, decisions about the work such as plans for camp meetings and building a meetinghouse in Ashfield can still be made in faith rather than judged only by visible financial resources.
It means refusing to turn back to secular labor for security when God calls to write and publish present truth though there is no money, no strength, and no visible means of success, trusting Him to sustain life and protect from sickness. It means beginning to write in weakness and lameness, seeking Him in prayer for true meaning of difficult scriptures, and trusting Him to bless feeble efforts, send means for publishing, and bring souls to embrace truth. Though penniless and discouraged, the husband was to write, write, write and publish present truth rather than seek field labor, trusting God's direction and provision without relying on what could be seen. That obedient walk brings a hundredfold in this life and, if faithful, a rich reward in the kingdom, with blessing on feeble effort so silent messengers bring means and souls embracing truth.
It means obeying at cost, as when Sabbathkeepers keep the Sabbath though it costs employment and leaves no visible way to feed and support a family, yielding all for truth's sake and trusting the Lord alone to help in time of test and trial when the way forward cannot be seen. Faith means trusting and obeying God without letting visible hardship determine one's course, and those who face poverty, lost wages, and reproach must continue to obey God's commandments, with reward according with self-denial and sacrifice for truth.
Israel at the water failure near Canaan and the returned exiles in rebuilding the temple failed this faith. When Israel's water supply ceased near Canaan on the borders of the promised land before entering, they had opportunity to show belief in God's promise by remembering the hand that had supplied wants for so many years and seeking help from God, but instead they looked at wilderness with no seed or figs or vines or pomegranates and no water to drink, forgot His care, and complained and murmured against God. The returned exiles refused to move by faith and wanted to walk by sight and no further, so when enemies hindered them in building the temple they framed excuses about wrong timing and left the work, their real motive being selfish dislike of extra trouble, expense and danger. They treated opposition and difficulty as proof time was wrong, though these were no excuse to abandon work, and because they would not act beyond what they could see they were easily turned aside. Looking at things seen makes impossibilities appear, but God knows nothing of impossibilities, and His great work advances only by the push of faith in things hoped for though unseen. This history will be repeated whenever people lack faith and turn aside into religious failure.
It means sowing the message, circulating truth-filled books to spread the third angel's message, entering new fields and starting work among the neglected without seeing where means will come from, humbly waiting, watching and praying while trusting God to water the seed and give victory. It calls for persevering work based on confidence in what is unseen rather than waiting until every obstacle is removed, and for working with untiring diligence while time remains, helping relieve God's sanitarium and school from debt, helping others bear burdens, linking in holy union with God, exercising living faith that works by love and purifies the soul, and serving as an adaptable working corps trusting His promise to give victory. It means to move by faith and work by faith and plan by faith in starting work for the colored people in the South, beginning small without seeing where means will come from, trusting that when once started the Lord will open many methods for securing means now unseen and will increase talents of those disposed to work. The humble soul who keeps working in Christ's lines when opposition comes receives heavenly wisdom and shares light even under most discouraging circumstances, and that life of faith causes what is entrusted to grow, so one talent faithfully used becomes two and doubles again, and faithfulness with small sums as with large brings large revenue into the Lord's treasury. Faith in this instance includes trusting the Lord will sustain a person who goes forward to fulfill a message and remain loyal to God rather than letting appearances alone decide what to do.
It means humbly working, waiting, sacrificing and trusting God's power and grace to work with human effort under discouragement, financial straits and uncertain success rather than relying on ability or visible support. Continuing to preach and work for salvation of souls when there is no assurance of money or support, sacrificing means and even life to get truth before those who will hear, is walking by faith with devotion under discouraging circumstances. Failure to sacrifice and press forward when interest is deep but expense heavy shows lack of practical faith, and an opportunity to preach despite financial uncertainty could have provided practical experience in faith, but suspending work meant losing that opportunity. When the treasury looked depleted and circumstances seemed dark, faith should have led them to speak courageously, pray, and wait for wise action instead of becoming afraid or moving rashly, for the Lord's work belongs to Him and can safely be left in His hands.
So long as God's people are in this world with conflict and trouble and deception from false tongues, duty is to trust God and rest in Him and be still instead of trying to deal with untruthful people themselves, leaving the sinner with God because Jesus alone can bear sins and God reads the heart. They are to refuse to fear that the Lord's work is in jeopardy or that issue of conflict is in their hands, certain of glorious victory because in His own time God will deal with the deceiver and will reward every man according to his work.
While the church is still militant, believers must journey by faith amid trials and misunderstandings instead of letting suspicion guide them, clinging to the Mighty One every moment and never letting go. They receive courage and wisdom from Him to preserve strength in difficulty, to unload every burden possible, to shun all avoidable responsibilities, and to do the great work to be done slowly and considerately without confusion, unwisdom, or overloading. This calls for trusting and clinging to God continually while facing difficulties rather than relying on what can be seen, carrying responsibilities wisely, moving slowly and considerately, avoiding burdens that can be laid aside, and relying on God for courage and guidance.
Ministers entrusted with special message of mercy and warning walk by faith laboring to be accepted by Christ whether present or absent, keeping the day of judgment before the people and awakening the world from sleep of death with a work that will live through eternal ages. This is because all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive according to things done in the body whether good or bad, and all will meet the Judge of the living and dead at His appearing in His kingdom to receive according to works. Believers follow God's heavenly guidance by faith rather than by what mortal eyes can see, for the light guiding their pathway is unseen to ordinary sight but discerned by faith, and those who follow it are light in the Lord.
Walking by faith governs material risk with equity: leaders who risk everything themselves may ask workers to risk something, but it is wrong for leaders to exercise no faith by demanding a fixed sum for board while requiring workers to exercise faith. Equity and justice belong to walking by faith, paying workers a stated sum to meet living expenses, accepting only trustworthy workers, and not leaving all sacrificing and walking by faith to inexperienced workers, accepting sacrifice and uncertainty about living expenses and board while trusting Him to provide.
Faith and prayer keep workers dependent on God; they are to pray as though efficiency and praise come from Him, while laboring as though duty is theirs, believing and acting in faith so they may receive power and blessings God provides. They are to refuse to look on the discouraging side when what can be seen is unpromising, and instead walk, talk, act, and live faith despite having nothing flattering in sight, such as few patients. They are to act in faith rather than judge by what can presently be seen, looking beyond visible obstacles to unseen realities of God's purposes, power, and resources, trusting Him to provide and advance His work even when prospects appear dark.
Hope of the Unseen Eternal
To walk by faith rather than by sight is to live as though seeing the invisible God, as Moses did, taking in by faith the glories of the future eternal world. It is hope for what is not yet seen, drawing encouragement from the promises when events bring pain or discouragement by keeping attention fixed on Jesus as author and finisher of faith. That faith which looks forward to the eternal world is strengthened by searching Scripture and beholding Christ, by which the beholder is changed.
To enter the city of God and look upon Jesus in His glory there, the glory must first be learned to be beheld here with the eye of faith. This requires earnest effort to obtain assurance of God's love, for when the mind has long dwelt only on earthly things it is difficult to change the habits of thought, since what the eye sees and the ear hears attracts the attention and absorbs the interest. Becoming accustomed to beholding Christ means making His words and character often the subject of thought and of conversation, and devoting some time each day especially to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.
Knowing Christ by faith as the glorified Redeemer gives a closer and more lasting communion with Him than mere physical sight or earthly acquaintance during His life on earth could give. He came in ordinary human appearance so that faith would not rest on an impressive or heavenly outward form, but people would be drawn by the evidence of His character and of God's word rather than by His looks.
By faith believers look beyond visible troubles, discouragement and circumstances to what is unseen and eternal, looking to Jesus and trusting God's promises while waiting for His help and salvation. Faith joined with obedience brings the beholding of the Lord's glory and changing into His image by the Spirit. That life of faith is a preparation of Christlike character for the hope of entering the saints' home above.