Faith: Risking and Trusting even when we can’t see it.

Faith-filled today? Have you ever been in a difficult situation where you couldn’t see the outcome but had to trust in God? Considered taking a chance and following what you believe God is asking you to do? Did you need to see it to believe, or could you trust and believe if God said it, He is faithful to do it? Was it related to your marriage? your kids? your work? your community? Does it matter what it is or will you trust God by faith even when you can’t see it?

Faith in Action: Abraham’s Journey of Trust

When we think of faith, Abraham’s journey immediately comes to mind. In Genesis 12:1-4, God calls Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household to go to a land God would show him. Remarkably, Abraham obeys, stepping out in faith without knowing his destination. This is the essence of faith—acting on God’s promises, even when the outcome is unclear. Hebrews 11:8 reinforces this by saying, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” The key takeaway is that faith often requires us to trust and obey God’s Word, even when the path ahead is uncertain. The practical application for dads is to lead their families with this same trust, making decisions rooted in faith, not merely in what is visible or certain.

Faith Through Trials: The Test of Job

Job’s story is of intense suffering, yet it is also a profound example of unwavering faith. Job loses everything—wealth, children, and health—yet he famously declares in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” Despite his immense trials, Job maintains his faith in God’s goodness and sovereignty. James 1:2-4 encourages believers to “consider it pure joy” when they face trials because such testing produces perseverance. The key takeaway is that trials are an opportunity to deepen our faith, trusting that God has a purpose even in our pain. For dads, this means modeling resilience and trust in God during tough times, showing their children that faith is not dependent on circumstances but on the character of God.

Faith Over Fear: Peter Walks on Water

In Matthew 14:28-31, we see Peter walking on water towards Jesus, an incredible act of faith. However, when Peter shifts his focus from Jesus to the storm around him, he begins to sink. Jesus immediately reaches out and saves him, asking, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” This story illustrates that faith is not the absence of fear, but the decision to trust God amidst it. The key takeaway is that our faith falters when we focus on the challenges rather than Christ. For dads, this means encouraging their families to keep their eyes on Jesus, especially during life’s storms, reminding them that faith overcomes fear when God is at the center.

Faith Anchored in God’s Promises

The journey of faith is one of trust, perseverance, and focus. Abraham’s journey, Job’s trials, and Peter’s walk on water each highlight different aspects of what it means to live by faith. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” reminding us that faith is anchored in the promises of God, not in our ability to see the outcome. As dads, the call is to embody this faith in our daily lives—trusting God’s guidance, enduring through trials with hope, and keeping our focus on Christ, who is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). By doing so, we not only fulfill our roles as fathers but also glorify God through our trust in His unwavering faithfulness.

TOPIC: WHAT WE CANNOT SEE

VERSE: Hebrews 11:1

'Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.'

Let’s be the dads who trust God enough to be confident in what we hope for. Let’s be the dads who believe what God promises to the point we have assurance about what we do not see. Faith is how we walk, not by sight.

Today’s Devotional challenges us to see if we have faith. It challenges us with the fact that “many of us claim we have faith in God” and yet “if God asked us to act on our faith, trusting in what we cannot see, could He count our faith as righteousness?” Do we have faith that can move mountains? Is our faith big enough to ensure waiting? How about faith that requires trust and risk because we can’t see it yet?

Today’s Devotional goes on from just the calling to go but then brings us to another Abraham faith moment that brought about not only his faith being considered righteousness but also to be called a friend of God. It points us to Genesis 22:5:

'He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” '

Do you have the faith to believe that “God would somehow intervene” and in Abraham’s case “trusted that they would both come back”? Remember how God promised Abraham that Isaac was the one through whom his legacy and family would be? So Abraham had the faith that through this experience God would make a way for them both to come back down from the mountain after sacrificing on it. “He didn’t know how God was going to do it, but he believed God’s promise.”

Today’s Devotional reminds us what made Abraham righteous. It challenges us where we are today to see if we will trust God enough to have faith, even when we don’t see it, to go and do what He is asking and calling us to do. It speaks to how Abraham “was righteous because believed, and his faith was counted unto him as righteousness.” Not because “he went up the mountain” and not because “he raise the knife to take his son’s life”.

Today’s devotional closes with the following challenge to us as dads. Can we be the dads who live our lives with this type of faith? “Faith is believing what God says is true–even when we don’t understand how it will ultimately work.”

“Faith and obedience are inescably related. There is no saving faith in God apart from obedience to God, and there can be no godly obedience without godly faith.”

JOHN MACARTHUR