When I Couldn’t See It, I Still Chose to Believe God

“The just shall live by faith.” — Romans 1:17

When we love God, we genuinely want to believe that He has full control over every circumstance of our lives.

But trusting God requires something from us: faith.

We must put our trust in Him. We must exercise our faith and, sometimes, place a demand on that faith.

Romans 1:17 tells us that “the just shall live by faith.”

If the just shall live by faith, then living by faith must be part of God’s plan for our lives.

It means trusting God totally—not partially—with our existence here on earth.

But what happens when what you believe doesn’t look anything like what you can see?

That is where faith becomes real.

Faith Beyond What We Can See

If we choose to live only by human knowledge and what our natural eyes can see, there will always be reasons to panic.

Life will present situations that can produce fear, confusion, discouragement and even anger.

There will be moments when what is happening around us simply does not make sense.

But faith sees differently.

Faith says:

“I may not understand what God is doing, but I still trust Him.”

Faith does not mean that we will always understand the process.

It means that even when we don’t understand the process, we know the One in whom we have placed our trust.

I learnt this in a very practical way while travelling in the United States.

The Phone I Thought I Had Lost Forever

I was at an airport in Maryland, preparing to fly to Austin, Texas, for my friend Choma’s wedding.

I had my hand luggage, my backpack and another bag that I needed to check in.

For some odd reason, I had placed my phone in one of the pockets of the bag I was checking in.

It wasn’t a deep pocket.

It wasn’t zipped.

My plan was simple: finish what I was doing, take the phone out and continue with my journey.

Except…

I forgot.

I checked in the bag.

A few minutes before boarding, I wanted to access my boarding pass on my phone.

Then I realised:

My phone was in my checked luggage.

I was confused.

And then the reality hit me.

How was I going to get around Austin without my phone?

How would I communicate?

How would I get an Uber if I needed one?

How would I reach my host?

I quickly went to customer service and explained what had happened.

They gave me two options.

I could choose not to fly and go back into the airport to see if I could locate the phone.

Or I could board the flight and continue to Austin.

Those were my options.

I didn’t have much time.

And I was distressed.

But somehow, in that moment, I told myself:

“Oluchi, be at peace.”

Because honestly, what else could anxiety accomplish?

You can’t be anxious and be flying.

They don’t go together!

So I boarded the plane.

I Had to Trust God Without Seeing Anything

Throughout that flight, I was unusually quiet.

I prayed.

I meditated.

And I kept trusting God.

I visualised my phone being found and returned to me.

But as I prayed, another voice kept trying to convince me of how impossible the situation was.

Think about it.

A phone had been placed in a small, unzipped pocket of a checked bag.

The bag had gone through all the handling that checked luggage goes through.

Surely the phone had fallen out.

And even if someone found it, how would it ever make its way back to me?

It was a huge airport.

Thousands of people pass through airports every day.

How would anyone know whose phone it was?

Everything I could see told me:

This phone is gone.

But I had to make a choice.

Would I allow what I could see to determine what I believed?

Or would I choose to trust God?

So I kept praying.

And somewhere within me, I became convinced that I needed to remain at peace.

“I Don’t Know How You’re Going to Do It…”

I arrived in Austin.

I collected my luggage.

And, of course, my phone wasn’t there.

It had fallen out.

I went to customer service again and explained what had happened.

They took my details and asked me to leave my number in case the phone was found.

I did.

As I walked away, I could feel sadness beginning to creep in.

And then something within me reminded me:

“But you prayed.”

You had visualised it.

You had meditated on it.

You had trusted God.

Why are you now allowing what you see to determine what you believe?

And at that moment, I said to God:

“I don’t know how You’re going to do it, but I know You’ve done it.”

I didn’t know where my phone was.

I didn’t know who had found it.

I didn’t know whether it was still in Maryland.

I didn’t know how it would get back to me.

But I chose to believe God.

Then Someone Called My Name

I was walking out of the terminal when I heard someone calling my name.

I turned around.

A lady said:

“Ma’am, your phone has just been found.”

I honestly didn’t know whether to shout or scream.

Because at that moment, I knew:

This could only have been God.

I went back and identified myself.

I told them it was an iPhone.

I described the colour.

It was purple.

I described what they would see when they opened it—the picture I had on my screen.

And there it was.

My phone.

The gentleman who handed it to me looked at me and said something that I will never forget:

“Ma’am, I believe you serve God. Keep holding on to God.”

I simply smiled.

Because I knew what had just happened.

I still don’t know exactly how that phone made its way back to me.

I don’t know where it was found or how the logistics worked.

What I know is that I had prayed, I had trusted God, and in a situation where finding that phone seemed almost impossible, it was found.

Sarah Judged God Faithful

This reminds me of Sarah.

Hebrews 11:11 tells us that Sarah received strength to conceive and bear a son because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

I find those words so powerful:

She judged God faithful.

Sarah had every natural reason to doubt.

Her circumstances did not look like the promise she had received.

What she could see with her natural eyes suggested that what God had promised was impossible.

Yet, she chose to believe God.

She judged Him faithful.

Sometimes, that is exactly what faith requires from us.

It requires us to look at our circumstances and say:

“This doesn’t look like what I prayed for, but I still choose to believe God.”

“I don’t understand what God is doing, but I still trust Him.”

“I don’t know how He’s going to do it, but I believe He has already gone ahead of me.”

When Plan A Is God and Plan B Is Still God

Sometimes, we simply have to come to a place where our Plan A is God, and our Plan B is still God.

There will be moments when everything around you seems to be falling apart.

There will be seasons when life appears to be moving in a completely different direction from what you prayed for, believed for or expected.

It can be overwhelming when your reality looks nothing like the promise you are holding on to.

But those are the moments when faith becomes more than something we talk about.

Faith becomes how we live.

The Bible does not say that the just shall occasionally exercise faith when everything else has failed.

It says:

“The just shall live by faith.”

Faith, therefore, is not our emergency response.

Faith is our lifestyle.

Trust God With Your Entire Life

Today, I want to encourage you to trust God—not partially, but totally.

Trust Him with your life.

Trust Him with your future.

Trust Him with your career.

Trust Him with your relationships.

Trust Him with your plans.

Trust Him through the seasons you understand and through the seasons you don’t.

Trust Him when the answer comes quickly, and trust Him when you are still waiting.

God sees what you cannot see.

He knows what you do not know.

He understands the end from the beginning.

And He remains God regardless of what is happening around you.

Your circumstances may change.

Your plans may change.

People may change.

The world around you may change.

But God remains faithful.

So, even when your situation does not look like the promise, choose to believe Him.

Judge God faithful.

Because sometimes, faith is simply saying:

“God, I don’t know how You’re going to do it, but I know You’ve got it.”

And then choosing to remain at peace.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your love over me and for all that concerns my life here on earth.

I choose to trust You totally.

I place my faith in You, believing that You will guide me, guard me and carry me through the different stages and seasons of life.

When I cannot understand what is happening around me, help me to continue to trust You.

May my faith not be determined by what my natural eyes can see, but by who I know You to be.

Even when my situation does not look like Your promise, I choose to believe You.

Today and always, I judge You faithful.

Amen.

Take This With You

Even when my situation does not look like my promise, I will still choose to believe God.

My Plan A is God, and my Plan B is still God.

I don’t know how He’s going to do it, but I know He’s got it.