Seeing By The Spirit

“For a momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NASB

I love how the Message Bible succinctly translates Paul’s charge to the people of Corinth in 2 Corinthians 4:17. It says, “These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us.” This great apostle wasn’t talking to the Christians in Corinth alone but to every child of God, and that includes you.

As a child of God, you shouldn’t view situations from the ordinary standpoint, that is, with your natural senses. You must learn to see the invisible with the eyes of faith, through God’s Word.

It doesn’t matter how unpleasant the situation is that you may have found yourself in, I want you to know it’s nothing compared to the testimonies that await you at the end of it all. In other words, even though that pain or challenging circumstance may have been there for a while, it only came to pass and will produce for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. “How?” you may want to ask. It’s by you learning to behold the invisible.

Learn to shift your focus from your present condition or circumstances and keep your focus on the Word instead. There are a greater victory and celebration that awaits you as you keep your gaze on Jesus, the Author, and Finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). See God doing great things in your life with your eyes of faith. Imagine yourself in health, prosperity, and victory at all times as the Word has said concerning you.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

In Genesis 15, we read that the Lord gave His promise to Abraham that he (Abraham) would be the father of many nations. God promised him that his seed shall be numerous upon the earth, and the whole world would be blessed through him.

However, Abraham, who then was still called “Abram,” argued and questioned the possibility of God’s promise ever coming to pass, because he had no child: “…what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” (Genesis 15:2). The Lord’s response to him was so remarkable. He took Abraham outside in the nighttime and said, “…Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be” (Genesis 15:5).

The next verse tells us that Abraham believed, and the Lord accounted it to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6). God helped his vision. He trained him on how to see rightly, how to use his sense of sight, spiritual sight. That’s what we call “seeing for realities.”

By taking him out in the night and asking him to number the stars, God engaged him spiritually on how to look beyond the optical realm and see with the eyes of the spirit. It’s what we’re called to do in Christianity: we look and see beyond what our minds and optical vision can perceive. We see with the eyes of faith.

We’re the seed of Abraham. Romans 4:16 calls Abraham, who is the father of faith, the father of us all. God already set the precedent with Abraham. You have to practice seeing realities. Consciously create time, when, all by yourself, you use your spiritual sight.

God has set eternity in your heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). You’ve been given an extraordinary capacity to contemplate, think, envision, and see. Use this powerful spiritual tool to dominate your world. There are no limits to the extent and capacity with which you can function; the extent to which you can “see” is the extent to which you can make real in your life. So, what can you see?

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which came of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13:33).

It matters what you see and how you see. Do you see with your physical eyes, or with the eyes of faith? Those who look and see with their physical eyes are easily overwhelmed by the challenges of life.

This was exactly what happened with the ten spies who gave a faithless response when they returned from spying out the land that God promised to the children of Israel. Let’s read part of what they said in Numbers 13:31-32: “But the men…said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we… the land…is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.”

What a picture of fear, unbelief, and defeat painted for the children of Israel by the faithless spies! However, Joshua and Caleb saw differently: that there were giants in the land made no difference. In their inspiring faith-response, they said, “…The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land…a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not” (Numbers 14:6-9). Whilst theirs was a leap on the Word, the other ten spies gave a faithless report, being men of the senses.

Never allow what your physical senses perceive – what you see, hear or feel – determine the circumstances of your existence. Don’t judge after the sight of your eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of your ears (Isaiah 11:3). Don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are subject to change (2 Corinthians 4:18). Fix your gaze on God’s eternal and infallible Word only and maintain the faith-response all the time.

Say these with me: ‘I’m not moved by what I see, feel or hear in the natural; rather, my thoughts, words and actions are inspired by the Spirit, through faith in God’s Word. I live a wonderful life of grace and blessings because I live in, and by, the Word.’ Hallelujah!