Are You Going to Walk By Faith or By Sight?

are-you-going-to-walk-by-faith-or-by-sight-1200x630As we go through life, we must make decisions that can have a major effect on the will of God in our lives. Whether it be a job, relationships, where we live, or college, we cannot make those decisions based on the physical. What looks good carnally, or to our flesh, is how we base some of our decisions and that will deceive us every time. We must have spiritual maturity to make those decisions based on prayer and fasting and the advice of the godly council in our lives.

In Genesis chapter 13, we find Abraham and Lot leaving Egypt on a path back to Bethel. Abraham and Lot had both acquired a lot of cattle and wealth. The herdsmen were fighting amongst each other so Abraham made the decision that he was going to have to split from Lot. The first thing of importance to note is that when they arrived in Bethel, Abraham found an altar he had previously built there. He made a sacrifice and prayed and worshiped God. When we are facing major life decisions we need to find an altar and pray and seek God. We need to sacrifice those things in our life that cause us to look at things in the carnal. Abraham’s faith and connection to God was where it needed to be. In Genesis13, it does not say anything about Lot participating in anything at the altar. So what this tells us is that Lot was likely leaning more towards the carnal. Abraham gave Lot the choice of where he could live and told him, “Lot, you can either have the left or the right.”

Lot looked upon the plain of Jordan and saw how marvelous it was. There was an abundance of water, the grass was green and it looked beautiful. The bible compares it to the Garden of the Lord.

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Genesis 13:10

When we have major life decisions that pop up in our life we can get excited. We can start to see how a job gives us more money or prestige and we can start to operate by sight. Our heart can have the tendency to lose track of the spiritual and all we can see is the worldly benefits that it brings. When we get to that point, we can have a hard time seeing that Sodom is waiting on the other side. Before we know it, we are living in the middle of Sodom. Lot never thought that one decision would eventually cost him EVERYTHING. We have to remember the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we are to “walk by faith and not by sight.” Jeremiah 17:9 says that “the heart is deceitful above all things.” When we make choices that are based on our emotions, we are going to be led astray. Instead, we should walk by faith and make decisions based on what Jesus spoke in Matthew 6:33. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” When we pray, fast, and seek godly council, we are aligning ourselves with God’s Word and will for our life.

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laneRoy Lane and his wife, Melissa, are the Directors of Hyphen, the young adult ministry at Apostolic Life in Urbana, IL. They reside in Sidney, IL with their two children. Roy is also a firefighter with the Urbana Fire Department.

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