The AMI QT Devotionals from April 24-30 are provided by Pastor Shan Gian, who serves as the Fenway site pastor of Symphony Church in Boston. Shan, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and Gordon Conwell Seminary (M.Div.), is married to Jenny; and they are the proud parents of their first baby Tyler.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
“Walking by Faith”
2 Corinthians 5:6-7
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Once in a while, when I’m walking alone with just a few people around, I will try to walk with my eyes closed. Inspired by comic book characters and blind kung fu masters, I like to imagine that I could walk ahead, relying only on my hearing and my imaginary, nonexistent radar senses. Not surprisingly though, I don’t get very far before I remember that don’t have superpowers, and chicken out because I don’t want to run into an oncoming traffic. After all, when we walk, we always walk by sight.
Whenever we’re traveling somewhere, we want to be able to see what is ahead, where to turn, and what obstacles are ahead. This applies to when we’re trying to get somewhere in life. We want to know what to expect, what to major in, what job to take, which city to live in, and who we should marry. One of the hardest things for any of us to do is to take the path of uncertainty, for none of us like to go into situations completely blind or unsure of what the outcome might be. So when Paul tells us that we walk by faith and not by sight, it seems impossible; it sounds like we have to dive into situations completely blind, not knowing what might happen, and not being able to see the path ahead at all.
If, however, we think about what walking by faith really means, it is not a path of uncertainty. To walk by faith means to live our lives, trusting that Jesus sees and knows our path. We may feel uncertain and uneasy, but what we need to remember is that our vision is so small and so limited compared to God’s vision. We certainly don’t have superpowers, but we can walk not by sight but by faith, knowing that Jesus sees everything and knows our path!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to walk by faith this day. I pray that I will not trust in my own vision or in my own plans, but instead, may I trust that You are in control. Walking by faith in You feels uncertain, but I trust that You are leading me to the paths that are so much greater than my own way. Help me to trust in You. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Leviticus 18
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read Mark 8:22-26: And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.”25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”
Questions to Consider
- What is unique about how Jesus heals this blind man?
- Why does it take two tries for Jesus to heal him? What point could He be making?
- When you think about where you are and where you are going in life, how do you think your “vision” is? How could you see what’s ahead more clearly?
Notes
- Jesus does not immediately heal this blind man, but instead, He takes His time. He takes this man by the hand and leads him away from the village. Jesus then spits in his eyes and lays His hands on his eyes, but it takes two tries for this man to be fully healed.
- The man could see after the first time Jesus touches his eyes, but his vision was blurry. After the second time, though, the man could see clearly. Jesus seems to be giving a message to us and to His disciples that when it comes to our vision or our understanding, we must recognize that even though we can see, it doesn’t mean we see things clearly. In the surrounding context in Mark 8, we discover that Jesus’ own disciples could see Jesus and thought of Him as the Messiah, but even then, their vision was blurry.
- Personal reflection question. To be able to “see” what’s ahead, we need to let the Word of God be the lamp unto our feet, just as Psalm 119 says. As we understand the Word of God and depend on God to guide us, He will direct our steps.
EVENING REFLECTION
Were you walking by faith today? It’s easy to just pass the day, not thinking about where our trust in God fits into the small or the mundane parts of our lives. Regardless of what your walk was like today, close out this day with a prayer of faith, declaring that God is the one who is sustaining and guiding your life.