By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
Faith in Real Life Series: Walking by Faith
Trusting What You Cannot See
Scripture
"Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death."
— Hebrews 11:19 (NIV)
Devotional
One of the hardest things about faith is that God rarely tells us how He's going to keep His promises.
He simply asks us to trust Him.
That's where Abraham found himself.
God had promised that Isaac would be the son through whom His covenant would continue. Yet now Abraham was walking up a mountain with wood on his back, a knife in his hand, and questions he couldn't answer.
Hebrews gives us a glimpse into Abraham's thinking. He "reasoned that God could even raise the dead."
Think about that for a moment.
Scripture doesn't record Abraham ever witnessing a resurrection. He wasn't leaning on experience.
He was leaning on the character of God.
He knew this: if God made a promise, then somehow—some way—God would keep it.
That's an important lesson for us.
Faith doesn't ignore reality. Abraham knew exactly what God had asked him to do. He wasn't pretending everything would magically work out.
Faith simply refuses to believe that our circumstances are beyond God's power.
How often do we do the opposite of what Abraham did?
We look at a diagnosis, a broken relationship, a financial burden, or an uncertain future and say, "I don't see a way."
Maybe you don't.
But God does.
His providence is often at work long before we recognize it. While we're trying to figure out the next step, He's already preparing the path ahead.
Isaiah reminds us, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8).
Our vision is limited.
His never is.
Today, stop trying to answer every "how."
Instead, hold on to the "Who."
Because when you know the One who keeps His promises, you can trust Him with the parts of the story you cannot yet see.
Reflect
- Where are you demanding an explanation from God instead of trusting His character?
- How has God proven His faithfulness to you in the past, and how does that encourage you today?
Pray
Father, so often I want You to show me the whole plan before I'm willing to take the next step. Forgive me for forgetting that You have never failed to keep Your promises. Help me trust Your character more than my understanding, and remind me that You are always working, even when I cannot yet see it. Amen.
Memory Verse
"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth."
— Hebrews 11:13 (NIV)
