In my morning devotions, I’m currently reading Exodus, and I’ve been reminded that God was quite serious about showing the Israelites (and the Egyptians) what he could do. I was particularly struck by the end of chapter 14.

Before quoting the verse, I want to remind you what has happened. The Israelites have see all 10 plagues, including several that hit the Egyptians only, leaving them unscathed. They have then had their former masters practically showering them with jewelry and other goods with a definite feel of “Get out of here before your God does something else to us.” Then they get to the sea, and (after they complain a bit) God puts a dark cloud between them and the following Egyptian chariots, parts the sea, and dries out the ground under the sea. They have then walked across the sea floor between two towering walls of water on dry land. And the chariots trying to follow them have first gotten stuck in the mud and then been drowned as the sea filled back in.

If you think through everything that they have just witnessed, Exodus 14:31 is not surprising. It says, “Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses” (ESV). We look at that and think, “of course they believed. Look at everything they saw.” But the interesting piece is what comes next.

• The water is bitter, so they grumble until God fixes it.
• They are hungry, so they grumble until God provides manna.
• They don’t have water, so they grumble until God provides water from a rock.
• Moses spends too long on the mountain, so they ask Aaron to make an idol to be their new God.

I could go on. The Israelites believed because of what they saw, but as soon as things went wrong again, they lost track of that belief.

So what’s the point? As I thought about this situation and this verse, another verse came to mind: “Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” John 20:29 (ESV). I have always considered this to be a promise that God would bless those who believe without having to see proof, but I no longer think that is the point, or, at least, I don’t think that’s all of the point.

I think that Jesus is saying that when we believe based only on what we have seen, our faith is a little shaky (or sometimes a lot shaky). When we reach the point where we believe without seeing, when our faith is grounded primarily in our knowledge of the character of God, when we can say with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedgnego “My God will, and, even if he chooses not to, I will trust him because I know he can and he must have a good reason for not doing it right now”, that faith cannot be shaken. We are blessed less because we believe without sight, and more by the quality of faith that does not require sight.