Faith Doesn’t Need to See or Hear

“I always knew He was there, but I didn’t know His name!”—Helen Keller

November’s Awakening, Day 16

Faith is blind—except upward. It is blind to impossibilities, and deaf to doubt. It listens only to God and sees only his power and acts accordingly.

 —S. D. Gordon

If the blind put their hand in God’s, they find their way more surely than those who see but have not faith or purpose.

 —Helen Keller

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17 NIV

            “Faith comes from hearing the message about Christ,” but what if you can’t hear or see the words of the message? Faith doesn’t need to see or hear—it just knows. Some might say those physical senses are even a distraction. Faith is a spiritual awareness not a physical sensation or a tangible, quantifiable substance. As God is the great I AM, so faith simply is. Faith is the instantaneous and unbroken connection with Him, an invisible lifeline that securely attaches ourselves to Him transcending time and space and the physical order of things.

            Anne Sullivan, herself the epitome of faith, was Helen Keller’s teacher who, despite all odds, faithfully persevered to communicate with Helen. Breakthrough came when Anne simultaneously ran water over one of Helen’s hands while writing the word “water” with her finger on the palm of Helen’s other hand. Helen now understood that everything had a word associated with it. Helen progressed to learn how to speak, read braille, read sign language by touch, and lip read by touch. She earned a college bachelor’s degree and was a noted author, lecturer, and political activist. Amazing.

            Being both blind and deaf was not enough to deter Helen’s faith and perseverance. This world has seen and knows many people just like her. Do your faith obstacles seem so insurmountable now? Faith—it’s the invisible finger of God writing His name on the palm of your hand.