know me by His scars.

Have you ever actually wanted something to hit you? To crash into you with such a force that it leaves you knocked off the ground you had tried to root yourself into?

It tends to be an unpleasant thing, and we mostly like being comfortable, not pushed around. Not changed. We like to settle. But settling can be dangerous. Lack of change usually equates to lack of growth.

”Whenever the Word of God hits us, it disturbs us. So don’t be disturbed by the disturbance. Remember that it is quite normal. God has to jar us loose.” – A.W. Tozer

The discomfort’s normal. The uncertainty. The feeling of free falling.

The Resistance to the progress.

After all, “we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)

We’ve heard that before. Maybe you didn’t realize it came straight from the Bible, but now you do – because it is. Say it again. We walk by faith, not by sight. What does that mean? What does that look like?

Let’s start with defining faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) A translation I memorized way back in elementary school phrases it a little differently: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Sure of what we hope. Certain of what we believe.

There’s no faith in certainty, of what we can see, yet faith is, by definition, being sure, being certain of what we hope for, Who we hope in, the sure Anchor of our souls. Even when it feels like hope against hope, as it must have for Abraham thousands of years ago.

In times like that, faith can feel like a free fall – but our feelings lie, it’s not a chaotic mental flailing. It is intentional, thoughtful belief. A choice to trust in God’s promises. It’s confidence in knowing that God’s Word is true, that He is Who He says He is, that His promises are really promises, that He will do what He’s said He will do. Faith doesn’t bear up doubt, it eliminates it.

So how do we get that confidence? Where do we get our faith? Hearing. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” – Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

The more we hear, the more we’re open to and teachable by Ruach Elohim (the Spirit of the Living God), the better we learn who He is. And the better we know who He is, the more confidence we can have in Him, in His character. He is faithful. He always has been faithful. He always will be faithful. He’s not just a promise Maker, He is the promise Keeper! His Word reveals this to us over and over.

It teaches us to trust Him, that He loves us, that by necessity of that love, He thinks good thoughts toward us: “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.’” -Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

Because He loves us, he doesn’t think any evil of us or toward us: “[Love] does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil..” – 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)

Which reminds us that He has claimed us for His own. Love doesn’t seek its own, and He has called us, who believe in the name and salvation of Jesus, His own. “You were bought at a price…” – 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NIV)

Just as the Almighty God of the universe, Elyon, who holds all things in the universe together, who keeps the stars in the sky, He so holds and is able to keep me. And you.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…” – Jude 1:24 (NKJV)

That same God knows the very number of hairs on your head. “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” – Luke 12:7 (NIV) And He doesn’t just know the number of hairs on our heads, He knows each hair and has numbered every single one of them. He knows it all, searches it all, cares about it all!

And He who keeps you and me is able to keep track of us: “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given me..” – John 6:39 (NIV) He is the Good Shepherd, and good shepherds never lose track of their sheep; neither will He.

I am hopeful that by now your faith is feeling at least a little bit bolstered in Him, by Him, as the Spirit opens your ears to hear His Word. But as necessary as faith is, it’s important to be crystal clear that that’s not what saves us.

Faith is the vehicle of our salvation, not our actual salvation. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” – Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV) We are saved by the grace of God alone, which is imparted to us by the blood of Jesus: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” – Ephesians 2:13 (NKJV)

And that’s all for His glory, as He daily leads us where we need to go. By faith. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” -Philippians 2:12-13

There are a lot of unknowns for us out there. So as I jump off the cliff into what feels like the great unknown, what is it that I do know? That my unknown is indeed known to Yah-Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, and He will remain just as faithful as He’s always been. I can trust Him and His promises. He is good. So, so good.

”I don’t know the end or tomorrow’s story, but I have found the One who gives me rest. And I will make my bed in His promises, for He holds true when nothing’s left.” Time, John Lucas

Keep pressing into Jesus,

Emily