July 1, 2026 · David Farmer
Faith to See
“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot— they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
Luke 17:20-30 →
## No Signs for You
There’s a reason Scripture says “faith comes by hearing”; our eyes can be tricked. But do you ever wish your faith could become sight?! Have you ever prayed, “Jesus, I need You. I just wish You would come and sit here in a body and talk with me for a while.”? An old 1870’s hymn sings: “And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.”* But in Scripture He addresses this: “the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’” The hymn’s picture of what will be seen is Biblical, combining images from Revelation’s 6th Seal and 1 Thessalonians 4’s picture of
the Resurrection/Rapture. So what did Jesus mean when He tells these Pharisees, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs”?
## Believing is Seeing
As we read on in this section, it appears He’s telling His Disciples the same thing. “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the Days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” Until we keep reading: “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will be the Son of Man be in His Day.” Lightning is seen; not heard. The disciples will see something… “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” Suffering and rejection come first. He speaks of Noah’s and Lot’s days and how people were just living regular lives when the end came upon them. Those saved held faith without having seen. They endured ridicule and rejection from the crowd. There is a time of faith when we’ve still seen nothing so far, but I see in this passage the written order of events for disciples. 1) believe without sight 2) suffer through 3) then be shown. Right now, between Jesus’ first coming and His second, this is a time a faith and waiting...and yes, possibly suffering. If you keep your faith until you see, you will see that you had to have faith to see…
## Self-Check
How is the Kingdom in the midst of us? I walk around daily with the Kingdom of God in me by having faith in it. Though I say Lord, haste the day, even so, it is well with my soul...while waiting. Keep looking for Him while you live your life, and what you suffer today will disappear in His Day.
## Looking Back To See