05/02/2025
When we follow God are we walking close enough to actually see Him? When we look ahead can we see Him there with Jesus as He leads us on? Paul spoke of how Moses endured hardship by “seeing Him who is invisible", but does our own faith allow us to see God in this way, or does He remain invisible to us in our times of fear, suffering, and temptation? Have we experienced God in such a way that He is forever real to us? When we think of God are we remembering Him by what He has been and done in our lives and as being tangible and real, or is He simply imagined and invisible to us; A God that exists in our mustard seed of faith alone?
“By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
Hebrews 11:27 ESV
When I used to travel in my job I would be gone from home for weeks at a time. While away I couldn't just come home and see my wife each day, but the thought of her was always on my mind, and I could see her whenever I closed my eyes. Sometimes, while sitting in my hotel room, her voice, smell, and the feel of her skin, would almost become real to me as I wondered what she and the kids were doing. This was possible because I was able to remember all the real moments and days we spent together in between my trips. Do we have a real life with God to recall?
Once we have experienced Jesus, or had an encounter with God the Father, then their voice, smell, and even vision is forever with us. We long to see them with our eyes, but even when we can't, they are alive in our memories and with us always. Pastor Oswald Chambers wrote of the benefit to us of this phenomenal ability to remember God in this way...
"The vision of God is the source of patience, because it imparts a moral inspiration. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of right and duty, but because he had a vision of God. He "persevered because he saw him who is invisible." A man with the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted to God Himself." - Oswald Chambers
A vision is powerful... When I was a freshman in high school, I played football... I was the smallest fullback of all the teams we faced (I was 103 pounds soaking wet). Needless to say, I took a real beating each game and as the season was nearing its end, I even had my jaw broken. What gave me courage and perseverance was being able to look over at the sideline and see my father standing there. I wanted to please him so badly that I would have run into the opposing line even if the defense was comprised of 300-pound NFL linemen. When we look up and see God, we should feel that same motivation.... our Father in Heaven is watching us always. God tells us often that He is with us, and that He helps us, and loves us. One of my favorite scriptures regarding God's presence comes from Isaiah...
“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."”
Isaiah 41:13 ESV
And, Jesus tells us the same about Himself, but he also instructs us to teach this to our children:
“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."”
Matthew 28:20 ESV
These scriptures provide us with an understanding that our visions of God and Jesus are real and keep us focused on remembering, and on our faith in those times when we aren't experiencing them in one of our incredible “God Moments." Verses like these reassure us in those times when we are away from home or engaged in difficult situations... they allow us to see our Heavenly Father as He watches over us and smell the sweet scent of Jesus as He walks just ahead.
Oswald Chambers makes a point that if we only believe while face to face with the Devine, then we have nothing. Having faith in what is right in front of us is something that takes little maturity, but to maintain that faith in the absence of something tangible and real requires much more. Jesus tells us to teach our children; we are to teach them about his commandments and life, but we are also to teach them how to keep the vision of "Him who is invisible" real. When they see Him during those times when He isn't actively revealing Himself to them, then their faith is maturing. The moment after we feed that homeless person and suddenly realize we have fed the Lord, our faith is easy and the image of God is real, but in those times when we are feeding the many, and all we have to go on is that same moment when God appeared to us while feeding the one... it is then that His vision must remain with us and give us the strength to endure. That is the pinnacle of our faith.
I watched a television show in which I saw a dog trainer who had been called to help because a puppy was tearing up its owner's house while they were away. This dog was well behaved when his master was home, but the moment he was left by himself he started causing trouble. Aren't we a lot like that puppy when we can’t remember a real God or Jesus Christ? ... To overcome this we must learn to see Their vision... and to teach this to our children. Is God real in our lives, or is He invisible to us?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for being able to see you always. I thank you Lord for your remembrance when I am faced with hardship, and suffering. Lord, you are with me always, even when I don't actually see you with my eyes or feel you through my experiences with you. Those times in my life when you reveal yourself to me are great treasures indeed and I store them within me to be revisited time and again when I am walking with the Invisible you, when I can't see your face. You have told me to pray without ceasing, and as I do, I can see you and smell your sweet aroma. Father, help me to teach my children to sense your presence in like times; even as I do in my own walk with you. Help me also to teach the young in faith what it means to find you in all things and in all situations. Paul wrote in Hebrews about this, so, Holy Father, teach me to speak of this as well. Let the faith you have built in me become the selfsame faith I pass on to my sons, daughters, and others. Let their faith stand upon mine... that they can see you better. As you know, Abba, Sir Isaac Newton, once said “We stand on the shoulders of giants”, but when my children stand on my shoulders Lord they stand on the shoulders of a humble man who himself is only able to see by standing on the shoulders of your Son Jesus Christ. I see myself as a man whose meager house is being built daily upon Jesus Christ, the rock. Help me as I teach your Word and the gospel of Jesus because by these Words alone am I saved and able to see you in my life. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who walks in my life and who reveals yourself to me in wonderful and mysterious ways. Holy are you who I worship in spirit and truth, and who my eyes see as I walk in the footsteps you leave in my life. Praised be your name Holy Father, and may all the glory and honor be made real to me and counted as yours alone. Hear this my prayer as I seek to do your will, see you in my life, and pray always in the name of your Son Jesus, the rock on whose shoulders I stand to see you, and the corner stone by which I am orienting and building my house.
““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.””
Matthew 7:24 ESV
Amen, Amen, Amen!
Rich Forbes