December 8: Walking by Faith

Pastor Jeff Cranston

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."

2 Corinthians 5:7, NASB

We have a cherished place in our hearts for the little town of Bethlehem. Back in Mary and Joseph’s day, however, it was a little more than an oil slick in the road. By decree of Caesar Augustus, they had to go back there for a census. Joseph and Mary had not yet been officially married, and Mary was well into her pregnancy. What a horrible time to travel!

What Caesar meant toward a tax-collecting headcount, God meant to carry out His promises of “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us” (Isaiah 9:6, NLT) and “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah.”

Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf” (Micah 5:2, NLT). In making the exhausting journey, Mary and Joseph fulfilled the prophetic promises of the prophets that Israel’s ruler, God’s Son, would come from Bethlehem. 

Mary and Joseph were both walking more by faith than sight on their journey to the place of which we sing, “Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.” Like Joseph and Mary, all of us will face moments when the road seems too long and the cost too high. Faith is believing God’s sight is better than ours. It’s trusting that all things — even a long, arduous journey — are for His glory and our good. Let us, like Mary and Joseph, trust in God’s guidance, even when we may not fully comprehend or see the path ahead.

Father, me being me, I long to know all the answers. But I place my faith in your sovereignty, I trust in your design for my life, and I believe that your plans are for my well-being; that they are meant to bless me, not harm me. Help me to walk by faith and not by feelings. Through Christ, my Lord. Amen. 

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