Wanting to Squint
Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
We live by faith, not by sight.
—2 Corinthians 5:7
If faith requires squinting for God into the fog of life, how exactly does God lead someone to squint?
The answer is simple: God makes us need to squint.
More precisely, God sometimes leads us into situations in which our need for faith can become very obvious.
God lays out a carefully designed plan intended to help us sharpen our ability to spot his presence in the dense fog that can come up in life.
Most of the time, these experiences seem like problems. Whether we like it or not, the comfortable, relaxed times in our lives don’t usually change us on a very deep level.
Most of the psalms, for instance, were not written in a setting of comfort and ease. Even the familiar words of Psalm 23 were set against the backdrop of enemies and “the valley of the shadow of death.”
Are you willing to let God help you learn to squint?
Before answering that question, make sure you realize what you are committing to.
We generally don’t squint for God until we need to. (See Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7; 1 John 5:14.)
Lord, we’re discovering that we need to find you even more than we need to avoid suffering or other difficulties. Please draw us to you. We pray in your name. Amen.
About the author — Ron Vanderwell
Ron Vanderwell recently became the senior pastor of New Life Church in New Lenox, Illinois. He has been a pastor for 22 years, serving as a church planter for the previous 12 years at The Gathering in Sacramento, California, and before that as a pastor in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Ron and his wife, Deb, have three sons: John, Adam, and Jake.
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