Living by Believing - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - February 14

Living by Believing
By Kristine Brown

“For we live by believing and not by seeing.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT

After thirty radiation treatments and two rounds of chemo, I walked into the surgeon’s office with expectation. Since the beginning, our prayer was for the treatments to successfully dissolve the cancerous mass, so surgery wouldn’t be needed. Now, we waited to learn the biopsy results.

Still feeling the residual pain from it all, questions threatened once again. I’d heard these thoughts before, and I knew what to do. I needed to look beyond my physical circumstances and focus on God’s goodness.

Each day I would cling to Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” This was God’s promise to me. And can I be completely honest? It was hard to “hold unswervingly” when by body screamed with the worst pain I’d ever experienced. But in the minute-by-minute battle for my thoughts, I knew I could either give in to the pain or keep believing for a good outcome.

I chose to believe.

The surgeon joined us. My husband and I were surprised by the look of confusion on his face. He explained during the post-treatment exploratory procedure, he had serious concerns. He didn’t like what he saw. So, he took several biopsies. Each and every one of the biopsies came back benign. No cancer cells present. This verse instantly came to mind.

“For we live by believing and not by seeing.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 NLT

In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul explained the hope that one day we will all leave our earthly bodies and be joined with Christ in heaven. He empathized with the church saying, “as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.” But in verse 9 he encouraged them and helped them grasp the big picture. “So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.”

For believers then and now, this world can sometimes be a discouraging place. We look around and see despair, conflict, and pain. If we don’t stay focused on the hope of Christ, we become vulnerable to all the hurt we see. But when we live by believing and not by seeing, we become part of a different story. A better one.

If I had put my belief in what the doctor saw that day, I would’ve opened my heart to discouragement. By focusing on what I knew to be true instead, I was able to fully trust God for the outcome. Not just one time, but over and over, day after day.

Let’s choose to believe not according to our current struggles, but according to God’s undeniable Word. When we commit to living by believing, we will be able to hold unswervingly to hope, whatever comes our way.

Kristine Brown is the author of the book, Over It. Conquering Comparison to Live Out God’s Plan, and the companion devotional for teen girls. Discover more about walking in faith with resources from Kristine Brown’s Life Enrichment Library. You’ll also find weekly encouragement to help you “become more than yourself through God’s Word” at her website, kristinebrown.net. 

Related Resource: Instead of Doing More This Summer, Maybe You Need to Do Less

If you've been feeling tired, overwhelmed, depleted, or just quietly wondering where God is in the middle of a very full life — this episode is for you. And honestly? It might be for me too, because I'm recording this in one of those seasons myself.

Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of going deep in a passage, we're talking about what to do when deep feels like too much — when you need less, not more. Specifically, I'm walking you through one of my favorite practices for weary seasons: handwriting scripture.

Not typing it. Not scrolling past it. Actually writing it out, slowly, in your own hand — because something happens in your brain when you do that. The words land differently. They go deeper. And over time, they become part of that personal library of God's voice that the Holy Spirit can pull from when you need it most. That's what Psalm 119:11 means when it says I have hidden your word in my heart — it's scripture moving into your long-term memory, where it lives and stays even when you haven't opened your Bible in weeks.

I'm sharing the five verses I wrote out for myself today — and why each one hit me fresh even though I've known some of them for years. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to follow the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!