Living by Faith

Living by Faith

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

(MATTHEW 7:7).

John 4:46-54

Reading

God sometimes answers our prayers in incredible ways, but He does not want us to become focused on miracles. That’s why Jesus gently corrected the man who asked Him to come and heal his son (JOHN 4:48). But because of the dad’s repeated asking, He said, “your son will live” (V.50). The man “took Jesus at his word and departed” (V.50) simply because of what Jesus said. His faith (his trust of Jesus) is seen in the fact that he believed what Jesus said, without having seen anything change, and then he “departed”.

When he got home, he saw that his son had been healed at “the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live’ ” (V.53).

At times we are amazed by God’s perfect timing when He answers our prayers, especially when he does a miracle. We must be careful, though, not to become so focused with miracles that we forget the God who provides them. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, whether a miracle takes place or not; however He chooses to answer our prayers.

Sooner or later we will need to actively trust God as we go through tough times, illness, break ups and other problems. That’s when “we live by faith, not by sight” (2 COR. 5:7).

Thinking it over…

When has God done something amazing, unexpected or miraculous in your life? How did that help you learn to trust God more? When God doesn’t seem to be doing anything—how does the Bible help you keep living by faith?

WHEN WE TRUST JESUS FOR WHO HE IS RATHER THAN WHAT HE DOES, IT WON’T MATTER QUIET SO MUCH HOW HE ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries