Father, I know exactly how Thomas felt when the others sounded so sure about Your resurrection but he wanted so badly to see, hear, touch—use the senses to make sure it was true. Thank You for correcting him, loving him, and setting him straight. Do the same with me, Lord, as often as I need it! I know I will need Your Spirit’s help to do better at walking by faith rather than sight. But I long to do that, in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

Walking by Faith 4For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.6So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. —2 Corinthians 5:4-8 Everybody’s rock solid on God at work when the work seems obvious. When good things are happening, it’s easy to say, “God is at work!” The challenge becomes to believe, to know, and to act consistently as a believer not only when I’m seeing it, but also, wait for it, when I’m not seeing it. Walking by faith rather than by sight is what this booklet is designed to help you do more consistently! How many people would be honest enough to say, “James, there have been some times in my life where I’ve wondered where God was and what He was doing. I didn’t see Him or sense Him.” I’ve found that a typical audience is usually filled with people who can relate to those thoughts. Well, hidden in these admissions is an addiction we absolutely have to break. If you want to follow Christ for a lifetime; if you want to love Him with your whole heart as long as He gives you breath, you have to break this human addiction to seeing. Seeing isn’t the only or even the best measurement of reality! Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). And the apostle Paul added in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” You say, “Well, James, what are you talking about? I go for walks all the time. I know how to walk.” We very definitely walk by sight. In fact, the person who can’t see physically has to have a guide with them to help or they can’t walk without tripping, running into things, or stepping into traffic. But I’m not talking about how to get around in this world. I’m talking about how to know your Creator. I’m talking about the spiritual you. And it’s the opposite. In the physical realm, we walk by sight; but spiritually, we don’t walk by seeing, we walk and live by faith. Now understanding that is absolutely critical, because people who say, “Well, yeah, I’ve had times where I didn’t see God working,” need to think again. When did God ever make a promise that you should see or would see? No, He’s made it very clear; we do not walk by sight but by faith.—James MacDonald