"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

                                                                                            -          2 Cor. 4:18           

       Faith in the unseen realm is like forming a bridge. Without it, you would be looking at a great gulf between natural realities and supernatural realities. But the moment the spirit of faith takes hold, something inside you builds a spiritual connection that empowers you to crossover. Everything that is in the unseen realm exists even though you can't see it. Heaven is real. Angels are real. All that Christ accomplished on the cross is real. Even our enemy is real. The forces that drive both good and evil, in this world, are very real. And until we understand how to utilize faith, we will constantly be at a spiritual disadvantage, blinded to the realities of what our natural eyes cannot see.

       Paul said, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen..." (2 Cor. 4:18). It takes more than our physical eyes to see things that are unseen. It takes the eyes of faith. Faith, as we know it, is a gift from God. The Bible tells us that "God has dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). But not all men exercise their right to live by faith. Many would rather live by what they see with their natural eyes, than to be guided by the eyes of faith. One of Jesus' disciples, who went by the name of Thomas, was like that.  He said, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25).

       If all you do is look to natural signs to base your belief, then you will never know what it is to live by faith. And that's where most folks lose the battle. When it comes to healing, they have their faith hinged to the symptoms letting up. When it comes to their needs being met, they have their faith hinged on their checkbook. When it comes to moving mountains, or overcoming any kind of problem that seems insurmountable, they are always looking to the circumstance of life to gauge the outcome. It is sort of like the tide. When adversity rolls in, they get anxious and fretful. When adversity rolls out, they become encouraged and hopeful. Faith is not a roller coaster ride. Faith is constant. It is fixed on heavenly realities, even when everything around it seems to constantly change.

       The Book of Hebrews carries within it an important message on the utilization of faith. It not only defines real faith, but it gives us the essentials to living by faith. In chapter eleven, it begins by saying, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). I like the way the Amplified Bible reads. It says, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see, and the conviction of their reality - faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses." In other words, real faith is determined by something more real than what your senses say are real. If your senses tell you, you are sick, when the Word of God says, "By his stripes you were healed," then you have a choice to make as to what you believe is more real. Everything in your body may be telling you, you are sick, but everything in the Word of God is saying, Jesus bore your sickness and carried your diseases! If you choose to live by faith, then you must fix your eyes on the unseen realities of healing instead of the seen realities of sickness.

        Here is the secret to living by faith. You have to let what you see inwardly carry you. It has to form your decisions, your outlook, your attitude, your way of thinking, and most importantly, how you talk. Jesus said, "What things so ever you desire, when you pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). There are three parts in this verse that really determines whether or not you are truly living by faith. One is making that conscious decision that you are going to reach out into the realm of the spirit and receive what it is you desire. Faith doesn't work by wishing. There has to come that point of contact where you say what you want. Secondly, the "set time" to receive is not when it comes into manifestation, but when you pray. Like I said, a lot of times folks let circumstances play too much of a part in how they see things. They think if the circumstances continue to look unfavorable, then maybe "God didn't hear me, and I need to pray again." If that is the case, then you didn't receive what you asked for when you prayed. You have to consciously take hold of it and not let go. Which brings me to the third part, which is; no matter how long it takes is "never" the rule to receiving. It may come sooner. It may come later. You don't control the time, but what you do control is the final outcome!