You can see a new reality through the eyes of faith

“We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Our eyes are our windows into reality.  “I’ll believe it when I SEE IT,” people say.  

Have you ever seen a person wearing a “Virtual Reality Headset?”  They may be fighting a mega-warrior with their natural eyes (looking into the VR headset) even though they know they are alone in the room.

Their eyes and their reality are two different things.

After her brother died, Jesus told Martha, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (Jn. 11:40).

Here are some areas where you need to constantly “walk by faith and not by sight”:

1. Walk by faith, not by FEELINGS.

Feelings (emotions) are in your thought life.  Feelings of depression, hopelessness, and regret can control your thought life.

Faith (God’s Word and Spirit) lives in your heart, your spirit.  It is far more powerful than your feelings.

You cannot be “led” by your thought life.  “All who are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8: 14).

Start talking to your feelings and emotions.  Tell them to line up with what is written in Scripture.  “Depression, leave my mind and my thoughts in Jesus’ name.”

2. Walk by faith, not by MEMORIES.

Thoughts of your past will capture you.

A wreck, a bad marriage, a failed business will become your new reality, your “sight.”

Memories are real, like “trees” full of images and thoughts in our brains.

Speak to those gripping memories and command them to leave your thoughts in Jesus’ Name.

Refuse to focus on and relive the “sights and sounds” of your regretful memories.

3. Walk by faith, not by FEARS.

There is a danger in constantly listening to reports of fear.  

The news cycle is filled with new “reports” of harmful and dangerous things.  One report is soon replaced by another that says it is not dangerous and may even be beneficial!

Don’t let fear take over your reality.  

Walk by faith (that does not mean foolishness or presumption).  Please don’t fall for every prediction of doom and gloom for the world and its inhabitants.

Live free of tormenting thoughts of your death and demise.

4.  Walk by faith, not by CIRCUMSTANCES.

A friend of mine asked someone, “How are you doing?”  “Pretty well, under the circumstances,” they replied.  He answered, “What are you doing under there?”

“Circumstances” are “what surrounds you.”  It is the environment, people, and conditions you are living in and with.

Your car and home may break down.  Your family may be dysfunctional.  Your job may be dull or stressful.

Change your thoughts about your environment.  Start thanking and praising God for a roof over your head,  clothes on your back, and food in your refrigerator.

What you “see” is perhaps the same, but what is changed is how you “see” it!

Walk by faith.  Overcome feelings, memories, fears, and circumstances.

Remember that “virtual reality” is not reality.  God’s Word, truth, and promises are your new reality!