Billy’s mom and dad stood in his bedroom door. “Happy Birthday!” they yelled in unison. “Have we got a surprise for you!” said his father smiling and waving a bandana in his hand.  “What is it! What is it!”  Billy’s voice rose with excitement as he jumped up and down. His father pointed at him, “You are going to have to wait and see.”

His father leaned down and spoke into Billy’s ear, “Do you trust me, Billy?” “Yeah, Dad,” Billy replied. Billy’s father held up the blindfold. “Here goes!” he said as he blindfolded Billy.

Laying his hands on Billy’s shoulders, he guides him out the front door.  As they get near the car, Billy’s father leans down and speaks into his ear, “Do you trust me, Billy?” “Sure Dad,” he replied.

Billy felt himself being hoisted into the air and deposited into a seat. When he felt the seat belt being buckled, he asked, “We are driving somewhere?” Billy’s puzzled tone suddenly shifted to anticipation, “Where are we going? Huh dad, where are we going?!” Laughing his father replied, “You will see. Trust me. You will love it!” Billy’s mind filled with possibilities as he peppered his father with guesses.

After an exciting but anguishing 20 minutes, Billy’s senses picked up the sounds of boisterous voices, pounding feet, blaring horns, and booming music. Various smells of enticing food permeated the air. “Where are we?” Billy twisted his head from side to side as if he could see where they were.

As his father removed his blindfold, he said, “Happy Birthday son! I love you!”  Billy’s mouth dropped open as the blindfold fell away. His eyes grew as as large as saucers. “Oh boy!  A baseball game!” he exclaimed. “See, I told you you would like it,” said his dad. Billy gave his father a big bear hug. “Thanks dad! I love you!  Now, let’s go!” he said as he jumped out of the car. Pumping his fist in the air he shouted, “This is the best gift ever!”

Have you ever had an experience where you were blindfolded and someone else was your guide?

It takes faith, doesn’t it? In that situation, before we would even submit to being blindfolded, we, like Billy, had to have faith that the person would safely guide us to our destination.

Along the way, we may have experienced a bit of puzzlement, excitement and maybe even a little anxiety.

Moses did too. Just look at Moses in Exodus chapter 3 and 4. 

God appeared to Moses and directed him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land. But Moses was anxious about the reception he would receive from the Israelites. So, what did God do?  He gave Moses a solution.

God preformed two miraculous signs for Moses to show the Israelites; turning Moses’ rod into a serpent and making Moses’ hand leprous then healed, (Exodus 4:1-8). Even after witnessing two miracles, Moses was still anxious as he asked God to provide someone to speak for him. In God’s great mercy He provided Aaron to do just that, (Exodus 4:10-16).

Even in the midst of his anxiety, by faith Moses went to Egypt, dealt with reluctant Israelites, met with the powerful and hard- hearted Pharaoh not once, not twice, but 12 times! By faith Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea and walked through it as dry land.

Moses must have felt like Billy, blindfolded and not always knowing exactly what was ahead. But with all the anxiety that must have caused, Moses chose to follow God anyway as he walked by faith not by sight.

Sometimes, having faith in God may feel like wearing a blindfold.

For we walk by faith, not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7

WHOA! NO SIGHT!

THAT’S NOT EASY!
So how do you do it?
You do it one step at a time.

Billy’s dad asked, “Do you trust me?” Because Billy replied, “Yes,” his dad put his hands on Billy’s shoulders and guided him one step at a time to his destination. When we say, “Yes” to trusting God for just one step, He will guide us one step. Each time we trust for the next step, God will guide us the next step. We may be anxious along the way, but with God as our guide, we will reach the destination He has for us.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 

Even if we don’t see our destination, when we have faith in Him, we can willingly go wherever He leads even with fluttering stomachs and questioning minds.

Having faith does not necessarily mean there is no puzzlement or even anxiety.

But it does mean that despite the anxiety, like Moses, we still go wherever our loving God leads us. 

We still walk by faith that no matter how we feel or what we don’t see, God will guide us safely.  We still walk by  faith that God will do what is in our best interest, because He loves us so much.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.
Ephesians 2:4

With our loving heavenly Father, we can walk by faith not by sight even in the midst of our anxiety.

REFLECTION

Have you ever hesitated to do something you felt was God’s will because you could not see or know the outcome?

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, as I write 2 Corinthians 5:7 and say it aloud, make it real in my life.  When You ask me to do Your will, please help me remember how very much You love me. Help me to release my feelings to You and take a step in faith to do as You ask even when I can’t see the outcome.

WE WALK BY FAITH NOT BY SIGHT EVEN IN THE MIDST OF OUR ANXIETY

Please let me know if my blog has been beneficial.
You can connect with me on my Facebook page or by email through this website.
Thanks so much!
May your day be filled with love and laughter!

For information on making Jesus Christ your Savior, email me or visit,  https://www.peacewithgod.net/

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Birthday photo by Gerd Altmann, pixabay
Baseball photo by Chris Chow, unsplash
Baby photo, public domain, pixabay