May 30th Devotion

How Can We Develop Faith in What We Cannot See?
By Meg Bucher

“Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.” Proverbs 17:15

“What?! But that’s not what I said!”

I lost a lifetime friend because someone else misinterpreted what I said in a group text and passed it along like a childhood game of telephone. It hurt to be misunderstood, but what hurt even more was my lifelong friend believing it immediately and completely writing me off. I couldn’t apologize, talk it out, or explain …an entire friendship had been blown up in a matter of minutes.

Is there anything more frustrating than being misunderstood, misheard, misinterpreted, or invalidated? It can make us feel crazy, trying to explain to someone who doesn’t want to acknowledge what we might have been trying to communicate, and instead stubbornly sticks to the version they want to believe, even if it’s not true. Our human pride will naturally jump to defend the misrepresentation of our character, and our sin-filled souls can be so tempted to waste precious time righting a wrong that is impossible for us to rectify.

What does that have to do with our verse today? David wrote, in this single sentence, of his ability to believe beyond what he could see or even completely understand. He knew God’s character. David knew He could question God, without questioning His character. There’s a big difference. If my lifelong friend had chosen to remember my character, she would have dismissed the gossip that painted me in a bad light. But she didn’t. How often do we confuse questioning God and asking God questions?

“The word awake shows that David believed in life after death,” The New Life Application Bible explains, “Although belief in the resurrection was not widespread in Old Testament times, several verses show that it was partially understood.”

Intersecting Faith & Life:

“But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. “- Psalm 49:15

Once again, David’s powerful faith in what he cannot see or fully understand is on display. Throughout David’s life, he made mistakes, disobeyed, panicked, cried out in pain, felt remorse, and learned to repent. He wasn’t perfect, yet the Bible said he had a heart after God’s own. We miss this so often, in life, confusing Christianity with “having it all figured out.” To be closer to God, we often become competitive, comparative, and judgmental of other people who don’t know Jesus, or who we feel are not as mature as we are in their journey with Jesus.

How can we avoid these common pitfalls and sharpen our ability to discern what is true and what is false in our daily lives? Faith in the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith in Christ.