In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks about seeing the invisible work of God. When I read that, it didn’t make any sense to me. Being invisible means that we are unable to see a thing. So then why would Paul claim he, and perhaps we, can see the invisible work that God does? He was clearly seeing something that I was not seeing.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says it this way: “Therefore, do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Now I understand that what we often see on the outside with our eyes is working something more glorious inside that we do not see yet. If only we didn’t lose heart or become discouraged at the work we do see, we’d see more of God’s invisible work in us.
Often the Lord’s work appears to be invisible to us because we look for the one thing we want, but He works the thing that we need the most. Listen, it is difficult for us to see the Spiritual Work of God in our situations when we look solely for the temporal. We are hungry and thirsty, so food and water become our prayer. But the Lord chooses to provide us with work we don’t have so we can provide for ourselves all our nourishment.
In Exodus 14:13, Moses said to the Israelites, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more.”
The Israelites were running from the Egyptians. They were trapped at the banks of the Red Sea, and the people were afraid. They saw only two possible outcomes: being destroyed by the Egyptians or drowning in the Red Sea. These were the temporal fears of the people. Naturally, they looked for God to provide a temporal solution, to build them a bridge.
Oftentimes we fail to see the invisible work of God because we look so intently for the evidence that He changes our circumstance. We look for the bridge. But God doesn’t build bridges at the first; first He provides a Way for us to move.
The bridge allows the same you to cross from one place to another. But preparing a Way for you enables the Spirit to teach you to choose ways to avoid being trapped by your red seas. The same you is likely to end up in the same predicament again and again. God doesn’t want to just teach us lessons. He wants to develop us to choose ways that will change the lessons we face in life.
Jesus tells us He is the Way. Your spiritual nature grows when you learn to look for the Way more than for the bridge. It’s a new you God is after, and when you learn to see His way, a new you is developed. You don’t just learn a lesson, you discover a new you.
If you are always looking for a bridge, you will be slow to develop the insight to learn that He has made a better Way for you to travel. He builds faith and confidence in you to know that He will develop in you the ability to see with more than your eyes. What is possible in the spirit is impossible in the flesh. You learn to see the possible as you develop yourself to believe that you can see through to the impossible.
So, if today you want to see His invisible work in your mess, you must start looking for what you might be missing more than what you believe you need. Learn to stand still. Do not lose heart. A little pain in your life today could be needed to produce much health and glory in your life tomorrow.
If the Lord answered all your prayers with the solutions you want, you’d be blind. You will never learn that you have within you the ability to solve many of your problems yourself. Learn to see His invisible Ways at work inside you. These make you better each day.
Let this be your prayer:
“Look at me Lord! I found the Way through this mess of mine that You had made for me. I was looking for a way out, but You had already provided me a Way through. I thank you Lord for Your invisible work that teaches me and helps me to grow up strong in my spirit so that I live stronger in my flesh.”
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