Believe in Order to See

"Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel; but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul." (Ps. 106:12-15)

We read of Moses, that "he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." Exactly the opposite was true of the children of Israel in this record. They endured only when the circumstances were favorable; they were largely governed by the things that appealed to their senses, in place of resting in the invisible and eternal God.

In the present day there are those who live intermittent Christian lives because they have become occupied with the outward, and center in circumstances, in place of centering in God. God wants us more and more to see Him in everything, and to call nothing small if it bears us His message.

Here we read of the children of Israel, "Then they believed his words." They did not believe till after they saw -- when they saw Him work, then they believed. They really doubted God when they came to the Red Sea; but when God opened the way and led them across and they saw Pharaoh and his host drowned -- "then they believed."

They led an up and down life because of this kind of faith; it was a faith that depended upon circumstances. This is not the kind of faith God wants us to have.

The world says "seeing is believing," but God wants us to believe in order to see. The Psalmist said, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

Do you believe God only when the circumstances are favorable, or do you believe no matter what the circumstances may be?

-- C. H. P.

I Believe to See

Written by and sung by Abigail Miller

This world is a place where we believe what we can see,

The tangible, the visible is what must really be.

But he who would be wise must see with different eyes.

We live by faith where miracles should come as no surprise.

I believe to see the goodness of the Lord.

I believe the promises He gave us in His Word.

I don't need to know the outcome of His plan.

I will trust His ways though I can't see His hand.

We're looking for a city that's not made by human hands.

We're living for a purpose that so far exceeds our plans.

When trials take their toll beyond what we control,

We rest upon the Faithful One, the Keeper of our souls.

I believe to see the goodness of the Lord.

I believe the promises He gave us in His Word.

I don't need to know the outcome of His plan.

I will trust His ways though I can't see His hand.

Devotional from Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles Cowman