Faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3)

Sometimes when an image is being captured by a photographer what is seen through the camera at the moment of the photo is not exactly what will be the final product once the image is processed. Prior to the revolution of digital photography this was much more of a factor as there were no digital screens and the image was unknown until the film was sent to a developer and returned. Even today though, particularly if using raw formatting for the image (unprocessed by the camera during the capture) instead of JPG (where the camera performs some processing to speed up the process) some faith is required in what the end product after editing will look like.

With experience it is easier to have an excellent sense of what the image being captured is going to look like simply because you have seen how the process works many times before. You might say, there is a “conviction” of things not seen when you take the picture. In our lives when we see God work and in creation when we see what He has created it creates an assurance in us that we can trust the end result of things even before we see them in their fullness.

May I suggest also that it is not only the work of God in our own lives that increases our faith but when we see the work of God in others lives we are also encouraged. So, when God works in your life share this with others so they can increase their own faith through your story. Like a network of strong roots in a forest our shared stories of faith and hope can hold together so when the storms come we will not be shaken.