On Thursday the Bible study group I am a part of watched a video lesson by a woman named Jennifer Rothschild.  She lost her eyesight at age 15 due to a degenerative eye condition she was unaware she had.  She’s taken that experience and written a Bible study called Walking by Faith.

The video we watched from that series was based on 2 Corinthians 5:7, which says, “We live by faith, not by sight.”  Jennifer contrasted what life is like when we are living by faith – we are peacful, joyful, hopeful, and trusting of God – versus when we are living by sight – we are anxious, worried, doubting, and trusting of self.

I was reminded of the Hebrews verse that defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).  Faith is confidence.  Unwavering confidence.  Faith is choosing to not doubt what we can’t see even when what we can see seems contradictory.

While it’s true that these verses speak of eternal things, I think they go beyond not doubting God’s existence or Christ’s blood being enough to get us into Heaven.

I think these Scriptures also apply to being certain of the intangible characteristics of God.

For instance, are we certain, like Abel was, that God is worthy of our sacrifices and obedience (Hebrews 11:4)?  When we come to a crossroad and have to choose whether we’ll obey God or try to do things our own way, we have a chance to demonstrate where our faith lies.   Are we certain God is worthy of our trust and sure He has our best interest in mind, or do we have more faith in ourselves to direct our lives?   Are we certain of what we hope for – His unquantifiable goodness?

Or when we are faced with a promise from God that seems impossible by our standards – like a really old dude and a really old, barren chick conceiving a child together – are we sure God is powerful enough and faithful enough to do what He has promised (Hebrews 11:11)?   To make the example more personal, am I sure God is faithful enough to honor His promise to keep working with the garbage I offer Him in order to create something good out of me (Philippians 1:6)?  Am I certain of what I cannot see – intangible qualities of God like faithfulness and unconditional love?

Do we have faith – unwavering confidence – in God’s holiness?  in His sovereignty?  in His power?  in all His characteristics that we can’t prove in a laboratory?

I want faith like that.  And I want to live out of that kind of faith.