By Ada Brownell
“Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJ).
“Faith is being sure of what we hope
for; and confident of what we do not see”
(Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
Yet, we humans don’t think much
about what we can’t see, and don’t pay enough attention to what we do see.
Almost every day the majority of
people see eggs. Never do we look at the slime and think of what we can’t see: a
living creature. Feathers. A beak for pecking. A voice for clucking or crowing.
Yellow feet for walking. Wings. Machinery to produce more eggs and chickens.
Beady little eyes that blink and see. Ultimately perhaps, a platter of
delicious fried chicken.
In the same way, we never think
of how we began as a tiny fertilized egg with all the DNA and genetic info from
our parents to make us who we are. We don’t even try to fathom the miracles of
our bodies—our brains, growth, our senses, how our limbs work and bend in all
the right places. We had not one, but two sets of teeth, so convenient because
baby teeth wouldn’t last or work well for adults.
Most of us have no idea of the miraculous
functions of our organs and cells. We seldom
think of how life began in the first place.
Then there is the urgent need for
humans to worship and know Someone beyond ourselves. If they have never heard
the gospel and don’t know God, nearly every people group in the world invents
something to worship. They make idols, worship the sun, the moon, the stars,
mountains, animals, the earth, ancestors, men who claim they’re god, and even
worship themselves.
All my life I’ve heard
testimonies of people who tried everything the world has to offer except the
one true God and they’re hearts are still empty. One of the richest men in the
world said, “Do you know what it’s like to be able to buy anything? If someone
made it, I could buy it. One day I sat on the bed beside my wife and said, ‘Is
this all there is?’”
That’s when he reached out and
found the Lord and for the first time he and his wife were filled with real joy
and contentment.
What satisfies most is not
visible. You don’t hold your breath because you can’t see oxygen. You can’t see
gravity, but it still keeps you from falling into space or jumping off tall
buildings. From an early age we learned whatever we drop splats and when we
fall, we go down. We can’t see the pull of gravity, but we believe in its
effects.
Hebrews 11 goes on to say, “By
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the
things which are seen were not made out of things which are visible” (verse 3).
Long before men discovered all
the amazing things at work in the invisibile, God revealed it to those who
believed. Like Job, when he was discouraged, God reminded him. Check out the whole
conversation in Job 38. Here are excerpts.
“Where were you when I laid the
earth’s foundation? Who marked off its dimensions? On what were its footings
set? Who set up the sea behind doors? What is the way to the abode of light?”
The chapter is filled with awesome challenges to those who refuse to see the
evidence of a loving, powerful Creator or are doubting He’s there.
Evidence of God’s handiwork is everywhere
and when we notice, we can see it in our lives. Those who experience Redemption
know it came from beyond what our eyes can see. How can our guilt for sin
disappear in a moment? Our desires change the instant we connect with our
Maker. When someone is healed do they see the power at work? Even natural
healing that occurs in our bodies after injury or illness, do we see how God
placed healing mechanisms inside us?
Oh, but we can see the evidence,
and faith leads us to look at evidence. When we face a crisis, thank God for answered
prayer in the past. Even though we don’t see how it happened, we recall the
evidence.
We have evidence our Heavenly
Father is concerned about us. Hebrews 11 reminds of that, “But without faith it
is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and he is the rewarder of those who
diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Allow yourself to examine the
evidence and believe in the invisible!
© Ada Brownell 2015
MEET ADA BROWNELL
Ada Brownell is the author of six books, about 300 stories and articles
in Christian publications, and she spent a large chunk of her life as a
reporter, seven years of that as a medical writer, mostly for The Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado. She
and her husband L.C., have five children, one of them in heaven, eight
wonderful grandchildren.and two great-grandchildren.
Among her books: The Lady
Fugitive, an historical romance; Imagine the Future You, a youth/parent
Bible study; Joe the Dreamer: The Castle
and the Catapult, a novel for middle grade up; Swallowed by Life: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, evidence
we’re more than a body; Facts, Faith and Propaganda, a book
designed to build your faith; and Confessions of a Pentecostal, out of
print but released in 2012 for Kindle; Most books are available in paper or for
Kindle. Imagine the Future You audiobook
is available at www.Audible.com Free book with new Audible membership.
Amazon Ada Brownell author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/adabrownell
Twitter: @AdaBrownell
Stick-to-Your-Soul Encouragement
