Our Imperfect Vision

By: Joanne Viola

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it give us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1, NLT)

Faith can be such a hard concept to figure out and we often turn to Hebrews 11 to gain understanding.

The chapter list the many acts of faith which the heroes of the faith endured. Each one is amazing, building our confidence in God. As we read the chapter in its entirety, recently, we find there were those who endured but did not get the outcome they expected.

They had great faith yet we are told:

“All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.” (Hebrews 11:39-40, NLT) 

They prayed in faith, believing their prayers would be answered, yet they did not see the answer in their lifetime. They have been commended for holding on and believing, even when they could not see the fulfillment of the promise. Basically, they died believing.

In 1 Corinthians 13, we read:

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (verse 12, NLT)

We may not be able to see every circumstance clearly in this life. They may not ever all make sense. Some will receive that which they pray for. And others may not. But it does not change who our God is – loving, merciful, faithful, and full of grace.

It means He sees the complete picture of His plan from beginning to end.
We only see a small part.

It means we see things like a puzzling reflection.
He sees clearly.

May we pray and live in faith.
Believing in our God.
Whether we see or not.

*This is an edited post from 2016 found HERE .
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay