Spring is here. As it peeked into our lives we had a few days with temperatures in the 60s. I cleaned up my garden, planted my indoor seeds, and even had coffee outside on the deck one morning. It’s not just the trees and blooms, I come alive at this time of year, too. I was so excited to feel the morning sun on my face.
Then, something happened. The other day I walked into the kitchen and it was delightfully bright and sunny. I made my morning coffee and headed out to the deck to experience a February-like chill. I rushed back indoors and asked Alexa, “What’s the temperature outside?” It was twenty-nine degrees. Yikes!
The room was as bright as it is on a May morning. That sneaky sun had deceived me into thinking that it was full blown spring, longing for summer. In that moment I remembered that sunny days aren’t always warm. I also remembered something else.
Here it comes…
We walk by faith and not by sight. That’s 2 Corinthians 5:7. The New Living Translation of the Holy Bible says, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” I chuckled as the scripture dropped into my heart. Yep Jesus! When I saw that bright yellow sun beaming through my windows I assumed it was warm enough for me to have my coffee outside again. I moved forward with my plan without actually checking the weather or checking with Jesus.
Most often we embrace “Walk by faith, not by sight” to encourage us to move forward with something when it may not look promising. This was a different experience with the scripture. It’s not like I walked out into a blizzard “in faith” expecting to stay warm. I used my knowledge of the sun, the spring season, and my experience from just a few days before to determine that it was warm enough for me to have my coffee outside again. I was wrong.
Isn’t that a great Holy Week reminder? On “Good Friday” things were not as they seemed. It looked like Jesus was dead. The teacher was gone. The movement was over. But, that was not the case at all. The party was just getting started.
Sure, we can use our knowledge and past experience to help navigate our journeys through life. But, ultimately, let’s never forget that our sovereign and supreme God has the final say. And if God allows it, the bright sun will shine when it’s only twenty-nine degrees outside.
My cold coffee morning didn’t have great spiritual implications. Thank God! But the lesson for me will certainly shape my faith walk moving forward. The lesson learned is that no matter what it looks like, good or bad, ask God how you should move. Do you stay or go? Stand or stand down? Quit or persevere? Don’t let what you see determine your actions. Stop. Drop. Pray.
TOYI ELIZABETH 