What we do not see by Susan Barnes

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

God has illustrated this principle of faith in nature. When we look at a tiny seed we don't see a tree, when we look at a caterpillar we don't see a butterfly and when we look at an egg we don't see a bird. Even a fruit tree in winter will look dead, yet when summer comes it produces a crop of fruit. We don't feel the sun during the night yet we don't doubt its power.

Sometimes when we look at our lives we don't see the "new creation" that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:17 or the "more than conquerors" of Romans 8:37. Nevertheless faith is being sure of what we do not see.

Every time someone plants a seed they express faith in a mysterious process that happens unseen, unheard, beneath the ground. We too need to express faith in God's mysterious process of planting within us the kingdom of God. Jesus explains, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how" (Mark 4:26-27).

Though we don't know how the kingdom grows, we can express our belief that God is indeed working in our lives to produce good fruit. His promise is: "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).

Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, loves to enrich people's understanding of God. She writes devotionals on Bible passages, book reviews and inspirational articles on her blog. Contact