“We walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV
As children, my brother, sister, and I engaged one day in an impromptu game of Hide & Seek. Eric was the seeker and, after he found me, we both went searching for Lisa, who was two years old at the time. We found her lying face down on the kitchen floor, her hands covering her eyes, and being very quiet. Our mother whispered to us that, since Lisa could not see us, she thought we could not see her. So Eric and I started walking about the house, asking aloud, “Where’s Lisa? Where’s Lisa?” A little betraying giggle arose from the kitchen floor. “There she is!”
In his first letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul exalted God as “the unseen one . . . he alone is God.”1 Not seeing Him, however, sometimes leaves us wondering if He sees us. Oddly, we’re quite convinced He observes our sins, but less certain as to our hurts and needs. We lament with David, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”2 Yes, fear comes to us more naturally than faith. But God is loving and faithful, and He acts in His higher ways and in His perfect timing. For instance, when Sarai’s pregnant servant Hagar fled from her in fear, an angel appeared and assured Hagar not only of a son, but offspring beyond number.3 So, Hagar gave this name to the Lord: El Roi, or “You are the God who sees me.”4 What a humble, beautiful and liberating confession.
Paul teaches us, “The things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal,”5 and so “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.”6 That’s what faith is, “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”7 It is the creature who is flesh submitting to the Creator who is Spirit. And our faith pleases God, for it echoes throughout the heavens and the earth His character, moreover the entrustment of ourselves to Him.
Then what must we do? Seek Him boldly and in full confidence, for the unseen God will not hide from us. Rather, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”8
Father, today I rest completely in this: You are the God who sees me. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.9 In Christ we live; in Him we pray. Amen.
1 1 Timothy 1:17 NLT
2 Psalm 13:1 ESV, emphasis added
3 Genesis 16:7-12 ESV
4 Genesis 16:17 NIV
5 2 Corinthians 4:18b ESV
6 2 Corinthians 4:18a ESV
7 Hebrews 11:1 NIV, emphasis added
8 Matthew 6:6 NIV
9 1 Timothy 1:17 ESV
Paul Nordman—Author 