Day 7 💎 2 Corinthians 5:7

Good morning, good morning, good morning! We've been talking about longing to be with Jesus. We've been talking about having courage when we learn to focus on the right things—like David, who looked to God instead of his circumstances. He looked at a greater reality that wasn't visible to the naked eye. We also said that when we truly carry this longing within us and live our lives accordingly, we bring Him joy. Look at what Paul says now: "For we live by faith, not by the sight of the world." That's a powerful, yet simple statement, and yet it seems complicated to live by. Do you know why? The things we see with our naked eyes seem to scream right in our faces. They seem very obvious, while the unseen things don't appear so obvious. Think about the whole context. If you consider the entire context of chapters 4 and 5 up to this point, grasping it in your heart instead of just reading it rationally, something will change: You will begin to live with the awareness that the unseen is far more real than the visible. Paul says that we live by faith, not by what we see with our natural eyes. This means that you cannot live both ways at the same time. He is not saying that we can live by faith and simultaneously be influenced by the things we see around us. The original Greek phrase translated as "what we see with our eyes" actually means "the external, something that only has appearances, that only looks like something." Every day, many of us—or perhaps even all of us—have to decide whether to believe what we see or what we don't see. We are so trained to live by what we see. Just think about how we judge one another. We judge one another by what we naturally see, not by what we don't see. It's so easy to be deceived. When we lived in America, Debi went to college when she was about 50. This was before artificial intelligence existed. She studied graphic design. When I saw what people who were really good at it could do with graphic design, I told myself I had to be very careful about what I saw with my natural eyes and what I believed—because they can make things look completely different. Today, artificial intelligence makes it possible to portray people in a completely distorted, misleading, and untrue way—and yet many people believe it. For decades, we've been trained by the world to believe what we see with our natural eyes. Think about how dangerous that is. If I posted a photo online of Daniel kissing another woman, people would believe it simply because they saw it with their own eyes. But what if I had created that photo with artificial intelligence, and Daniel had never kissed another woman? Do you see how normal it's become for us to believe what we see? No wonder we find it so difficult to live according to true biblical faith. Paul explicitly points out that we must live by faith, not by what we see with our natural eyes. Often, we literally have to make a decision and say, “I know my eyes see this, but the Bible says otherwise. Therefore, I will not believe what my eyes see.” That’s how faith works. Isn’t the author of Hebrews quite clear? “Faith is the assurance of things not seen.” Every time you choose to live by what you see, you are refusing to live by faith. Think about it. Let me put it another way. Every time you choose to believe what you see, you are actually refusing to live by faith. Peter didn’t see how the water carried him. He had to take a step into the unknown first—and the other eleven disciples stayed in the boat. They lived by what they saw; therefore, they could not walk by faith. Peter walked by faith. As soon as he went from walking by faith to seeing and seeing, he ceased to walk by faith. Therefore, Paul truly encourages and challenges us here. Decide what you want to live by: the natural things you see, or the truth of the spiritual realities God speaks of. Until tomorrow. 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith and not by what we see with our eyes. ----- Want to learn more about us? Website | https://reinhardhirtler.com/lp/de/ Copyright © 2026 Reinhard Hirtler (Publication, reproduction, and distribution, including in printed form, only with prior consultation)