Many see to believe, but this is worldly, carnal, faithless and does not wash or work with God. God wants us to believe before we see. This is faith in action. We walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor5:7). Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence (or title -deed) of the things unseen (Heb11:1). Jesus told Thomas, who wanted to see the place where the nails pierced His hands before he would believe the resurrection,

“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 If you want to see before you believe God, you will miss out a lot on what God wants to do with you and through you.

Without faith is impossible to please God without faith. (Heb11:6)

Peter and his fishing companions had fished all night without catching anything. Jesus arrived on the scene and after using his boat, he told Peter:

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Imagine if Peter had insisted on seeing the fish before casting the net. He would have missed a great opportunity and miracle.

This is why we need to be well acquainted with God and His Word, so that we know when He speaks to us and to do what He says. Living or walking by faith is our life-style. The just shall live by faith. (Rom1:17, Heb10:38, Hab.2:4)

Abraham was told “Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you. Gen12:1

He obeyed immediately not knowing where he was going. This is faith.

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

He believed and acted on what he believed and eventually he saw the place. God had promised.

Similarly, when Isaac experienced severe famine in Gerar, he wanted to do what most people were doing – running to a “greener pasture.” However, God intervened and told him:

“Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. ³ Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. Gen26:2-3

Isaac not only obeyed but sowed in the Land. The result was a hundred-fold return,

¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. ¹³ The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; ¹⁴ for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. Gen.12:12-14

Believe and you will see. We believe to see.

The man born blind, met with Jesus: He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷ And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. John9:6-7

Imagine if he insisted on seeing before obeying. He would have missed his miracle.

On another occasion Jesus met with 10 lepers who cried out for Jesus to heal them.

Ten Lepers Cleansed

¹¹ Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. ¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

Notice that Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest and they obeyed. As they went, they were healed.

Usually, people went to show themselves to the priest to verify their healing. But Jesus asked them to go and show themselves to the priest before it happened. It was their faith demonstrated by their action that triggered the healing. They believed Jesus and acted on their belief and they saw.

Believe what God had said and you will see. Act on the word. That is how you please God and trigger the miraculous.

King Jehoshaphat was surrounded by an armada of enemy forces that were like the sands of the sea. He and the whole nation prayed to God and asked for help and God gave them a strategy to follow -to go out against them- not with bows and arrows or other carnal weapons.

“Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

They obeyed God and put singers in front of the army since they were not going to fight with physical weapons.

²⁰ So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they ^[e]had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.

They obeyed the seemingly ridiculous instruction of God and He gave them the miraculous.  They asked for protection but God gave then not only protection but prosperity. Notice here again, they did not wait to see. They believed and they saw.

Has God given you a word about your family, finances, business, health or any other matter that concerns you? If so, go ahead and act on that Word and you will see His power and glory and splendour. Believe and you will see.

Paul reminded us:

2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

So let your faith not rest in your wisdom or the wisdom of those around you but in the veracity and infallibility of the word of God and on His integrity, God is not a man that He should lie neither son of man that He should repent. If He said it, he has the resources to bring it to pass. He is dependable, reliable and exceedingly abundantly able to do far beyond your wildest dream. Take His Word to the bank of Heaven and you can be sure that there is always more than enough funds to honour the cheque He signs.

I Believe To See ( by Fenny West)