A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
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Friday,
January 15,
2021
Foggy
Chesapeake Bay from Havre de Grace, Maryland
"Living
By Faith"
Message summary: Let us live by
faith and not by sight, especially when we are
experiencing sight-limiting fog!
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
Listen
to this message on your audio player."We live by faith,
not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).
About
30 years ago I served as a chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol. My
role was to provide moral and spiritual support
and encouragement. Among my responsibilities as
chaplain was to notify and update family members
about the condition of their loved ones aboard a
missing or crashed plane. However thankfully I
never had to do that.
About
30 years ago I served as a chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol. My
role was to provide moral and spiritual support
and encouragement. Among my responsibilities as
chaplain was to notify and update family members
about the condition of their loved ones aboard a
missing or crashed plane. However thankfully I
never had to do that.I
also had the opportunity to fly
along with the pilots during training, sitting
in the back seat as a non-pilot. Our squadron
was based out of St. Marys, PA in mountainous
northern Pennsylvania.
One
time, we flew to an airport in Clearfield,
Pennsylvania, (in the Allegheny Mountains) where
there is a steep drop off at the end of the
runway. The pilots were practicing their
instrument rating skills but didn't tell me till
I got on the plane! After taking off both pilots
placed hoods over their heads to block their
visual view outside the airplane, forcing them
to focus solely on the plane's instrument panel
(simulating conditions such as fog when their
vision would be greatly impaired).
I could see out from my seat, but certainly I had no control of the flight. Each time I looked toward the front of the plane and saw the pilots in their strange-looking hoods I grew a bit uneasy. I wanted them to see where we were going! It wasn't so bad when we were high in the air, but when we began our descent to the landing strip I couldn't take my eyes off the drop-off at the end! I was so relieved when, just prior to landing, both pilots lifted their hoods and of course we had a safe landing!
One
time, we flew to an airport in Clearfield,
Pennsylvania, (in the Allegheny Mountains) where
there is a steep drop off at the end of the
runway. The pilots were practicing their
instrument rating skills but didn't tell me till
I got on the plane! After taking off both pilots
placed hoods over their heads to block their
visual view outside the airplane, forcing them
to focus solely on the plane's instrument panel
(simulating conditions such as fog when their
vision would be greatly impaired).I could see out from my seat, but certainly I had no control of the flight. Each time I looked toward the front of the plane and saw the pilots in their strange-looking hoods I grew a bit uneasy. I wanted them to see where we were going! It wasn't so bad when we were high in the air, but when we began our descent to the landing strip I couldn't take my eyes off the drop-off at the end! I was so relieved when, just prior to landing, both pilots lifted their hoods and of course we had a safe landing!
Our
daily text simply states, "We live by faith,
not by sight". Spiritually speaking,
you may be going through very thick clouds right
now and can't see two feet in front of you. To
make things worse you may be experiencing
unexpected turbulence. By faith recognize the
integrity of God's promises and trust Him who is
forever faithful! "God keeps every promise
He makes. He is like a shield for all who seek
His protection" (Proverbs 30:5).
We can testify to others that we trust God, but we like to see don't we? We like to know what's going on, and we especially like to be in control of our circumstances. Much of the time we believe we really are. We think we have it all figured out. However we must remember the wise proverb, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Proverbs 16:1 also cautions us, "We may make our plans but God has the last word". (TEV)
God wants each step of our earthly journey to be a step of faith so that our eyes are not focused on the temporal situation but on our eternal God and the continuing work He is doing in our lives. If our physical vision is limited then we will more likely rely on our spiritual vision and see that God providentially allows these foggy periods in our life for His glory and for our eternal good. Just as the fog requires pilots to rely on their instruments rather than their sight, so our trials will cause us to focus on God, our faith in His promises, and our eternal future which is where our focus should be. Let us live by faith and not by sight, especially when we are experiencing sight-limiting fog!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
We can testify to others that we trust God, but we like to see don't we? We like to know what's going on, and we especially like to be in control of our circumstances. Much of the time we believe we really are. We think we have it all figured out. However we must remember the wise proverb, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Proverbs 16:1 also cautions us, "We may make our plans but God has the last word". (TEV)
God wants each step of our earthly journey to be a step of faith so that our eyes are not focused on the temporal situation but on our eternal God and the continuing work He is doing in our lives. If our physical vision is limited then we will more likely rely on our spiritual vision and see that God providentially allows these foggy periods in our life for His glory and for our eternal good. Just as the fog requires pilots to rely on their instruments rather than their sight, so our trials will cause us to focus on God, our faith in His promises, and our eternal future which is where our focus should be. Let us live by faith and not by sight, especially when we are experiencing sight-limiting fog!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, help us to have the kind of
faith prescribed in Hebrews 11:1 where "Faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what
we do not see". It is the kind of prevailing faith
that is triumphant even in the worst of
circumstances because it is not determined by what
we see, but rather in Whom we believe. We will not
be overcome by life's dark circumstances but we will
overcome the darkness by standing on the
unflickering hope of Scripture that reassures us,
"God keeps every promise He makes, He is like a
shield to all who seek His protection". Praise God!
Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
"Christ
Our Hope in Life and Death"
Video
Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt
Papa
Concord
Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace, Maryland
The
Susquehanna River Rail Bridge in Havre de
Grace Maryland
Collie
pups on Old Windmill Farm
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a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
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Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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