2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight.
When we live out God’s calling, we must walk by faith. God’s promise is established on His calling for your life and the Scriptures He has given you. It must occur in the spiritual realm before manifesting in the natural realm. Therefore, there will be a time lag between your prayer, the Word of promise received, and the answer to your prayer. The opening Scripture says that if God has given us a Word, we should not be swayed by what we see. Instead, we should be convinced by what we believe.
Unfortunately, many believers give up at this stage because they are too accustomed to being affected by what they see, hear, or experience, rather than standing on the promise and exercising patience. As humans, it is normal for us to be affected emotionally, so our faith can be shaken when we see and hear news that contradicts our beliefs. However, if you are convinced that you have heard from the Lord, don’t quit! It is a daily fight of faith between choosing to believe what we have heard from the Lord and what we are experiencing.
Doubt is a dream thief. It convinces us to focus solely on the present circumstances and forego our faith in God. Because we are too used to seeing and believing, doubt and fear can easily prevent, hinder, and cause us to give up on the calling of God in our lives. In contrast, faith is not based on what we see, because if we only believe after seeing, faith is optional. Rather, faith is established in the heart, though the mind will need some time to align with the Word. Therefore, our mind may agree with what is said, but struggles to believe when a crisis hits us. The mind can be an obstacle, as in the case of Thomas, who believed only after he saw. Therefore, there will always be a struggle between what we believe and what we see, experience, and feel through our senses, which causes the mind to doubt.
Faith is believing in our hearts, apart from our senses, because it is established on the Word. We need to walk in faith, not by sight, throughout our lives. However, through this journey, we will come to know God personally by being constantly connected to Him in a close relationship. We will experience Him speaking to us through His Word, leading us through the Holy Spirit, and we will receive ideas and wisdom from Him as we walk with Him and tune in to the voice of the Holy Spirit. We will live a well-balanced life, having the right priorities, because our faith is in Him, and bearing fruit because we are branches connected to the Vine.
Sermon Series：You Have A Calling!
凭信心结出果实
哥林多后书 5:7 因为我们行事是凭着信心，不是凭着眼见。
当我们活出神的呼召时，必须凭信心而行。神的应许建立在祂对你生命的呼召和祂赐给你的圣经话语之上。这些应许必先在属灵领域成就，然后才会显现在物质领域。因此，从你祷告、领受应许的话语，到祷告得蒙应允，往往会有一段等候的时间。开篇的经文告诉我们，若神已赐下话语，我们就不要被眼前所见动摇，而要坚定相信我们所信的。
遗憾的是，许多信徒在这一阶段放弃了，因为他们太习惯于被所见、所闻或所经历的事情影响，而不是持守应许、操练忍耐。作为人，情绪受影响是正常的，因此当我们看到或听到与信仰相悖的消息时，信心可能会动摇。然而，如果你确信自己已经领受了主的话语，就不要放弃！这是一场信心的每日争战，需要我们不断选择相信从主所听见的，而非我们所经历的。
怀疑是梦想的窃贼。它说服我们只专注于眼前的境况，而放弃对神的信心。因为我们太习惯于眼见为凭，怀疑和恐惧很容易拦阻、妨碍甚至使我们放弃神在我们生命中的呼召。相反，信心并不基于我们所见的，因为若只有看见了才信，信心就变得可有可无。信心是建立在心里的，尽管我们的头脑可能需要一些时间与神的话语对齐。因此，我们的理性或许会认同所听见的，但在危机来临时却难以相信。理性可能成为障碍，就像多马一样，非要看见了才信。所以，我们总会经历一场争战——介于我们所信的与所见、所经历、所感知的之间，而后者往往引发理性的怀疑。
信心是心里所信的，超越感官的局限，因为它建立在神的话语之上。我们的一生都需要凭信心而行，而非凭眼见。然而，在这段旅程中，我们会通过与神保持亲密的关系，亲身认识祂。我们会经历祂透过圣经向我们说话，藉着圣灵引导我们，并在我们与祂同行、聆听圣灵的声音时，从祂领受智慧和启示。我们将活出平衡的生命，拥有正确的优先次序，因为我们的信心在于祂；我们也必结出果实，因为我们是连接在葡萄树上的枝子。
讲章系列：你有蒙召的命定
Image Source：pixabay.com