"We live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

We had a lingering blast of winter yesterday with very cold winds. When I took Ester to work in the early afternoon we both got this emergency weather alert on our phones from the National Weather service: "Snow Squall Warning. Slow down or delay travel. be ready for a sudden drop to near zero visibility and icy roads in heavy snow." We saw a changeable message sign on the highway with a similar warning. However, apart from the gusty cold winds these conditions never materialized for us.

But new reports began to come in of a huge pile-up on I-81 about an hour north of us. We often use this interstate heading north. In fact we will be up that way today. At the last report I read the crash involved 50 to 60 cars and tractor-trailers and tragically there were 3 deaths. All this happened in the extremely cold, windy conditions and was attributed to a whiteout where there was near zero visibility.

A whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by snow. The horizon disappears completely and there are no reference points at all, leaving the individual with a distorted orientation.

About 35 years ago we drove into a whiteout on a remote highway in northern Pennsylvania near a little village named Kane, which for many years has had the reputation of being the icebox of Pennsylvania. It was so severe we couldn't even see the front of our own car. I pulled over quickly and stopped till it passed. Thankfully there was little traffic on the road. It can be extremely unsettling when you're behind the steering wheel of a car unable to see if you're veering into the other lane or toward the ditch, let along wondering about other vehicles in front of you, coming toward you or up behind you!

Many of us have experienced times when our vision is impaired due to a whiteout or thick fog, but all of us have experienced the thick clouds of a trial, as described by hymn writer Edward Mote who wrote, "When darkness veils His lovely face" in "The Solid Rock".

Likewise, when uncertainty about the future surmounts, it can seem like we are in a condition similar to a whiteout with near zero spiritual visibility.

"We live by faith, not by sight".  Spiritually speaking, you may be in the midst of a whiteout or going through very thick clouds right now. 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 even when we can't see, 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). Prov. 16:1 also cautions us, "We may make our plans but God has the last word." (TEV)

Yesterday in our message we shared some of the lyrics to a song titled "Faithful Now". They fit well again with this message.

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 nearly so much as they are fixed 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. Our trials will cause us to focus on God, our faith in Christ and the eternal, which is where our focus should always be.

Earlier I quoted a phrase from a hymn that expresses my heart today: "When darkness veils His lovely face". Those who know the hymns can complete the sentence, "I rest on His unchanging grace." Oh, for this blessed assurance to be upon each of our readers today is our prayer, especially those experiencing what seems like a whiteout!

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber