Faith Beyond Sight: When God's Math Doesn't Add Up

There's something deeply human about wanting to measure everything. We pull out our calculators, check our bank accounts, assess our abilities, and determine what's possible based on what we can see and count. But what happens when God asks us to step into something that doesn't fit our measurements? What happens when the numbers simply don't add up?
The Man Who Couldn't Forget
Fifteen years is a long time to carry something. For one man, it was the memory of an unpaid debt—a simple car part purchased from an elderly gentleman who disappeared shortly after. The amount wasn't significant, but the Holy Spirit's gentle reminder persisted: "You never did pay the old man."
For fifteen years, that whisper would surface occasionally. Life got busy—marriage, building a house, work demands. It would have been easy to dismiss, to rationalize, to forget. But God doesn't forget, and sometimes His timing reveals purposes we could never orchestrate ourselves.
When obedience finally came, it led to a remarkable discovery. The elderly man, now an invalid, had been brought back to his old neighborhood just the night before—not for his healing, but so a debt could be settled and a conscience could be freed. In that moment, the man who came to pay witnessed something profound: he saw the Lord at work in ways that transcended human logic.
This story captures a fundamental truth about faith: obedience often leads us to places where we witness God's supernatural orchestration.
The Apostle Who Loved His Calculator
When Jesus looked at the crowd of over 5,000 people and turned to Philip asking, "Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?" He already knew what He was going to do. The question wasn't for information—it was a test of faith.
Philip's response was immediate and practical: "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little." He had done the math. He had measured the resources against the need. His conclusion was logical, reasonable, and completely accurate—from a human perspective.
Philip was an administrator, a coordinator, someone who liked things to add up. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. In fact, those are valuable qualities. But Jesus was teaching Philip—and us—something crucial: faith is not about what we can measure; it's about who we trust.
When God's Ways Don't Make Sense
Scripture is filled with examples of God calling people into situations that made absolutely no sense from a logical standpoint:
Moses had a speech impediment, yet God called him to be the spokesperson who would confront Pharaoh and lead an entire nation out of slavery. The very tool Moses needed most—his voice—was his greatest weakness. But God said, "I'll be with you," and that was enough.
Gideon was hiding in a hole, threshing wheat in fear, when the angel of the Lord appeared and called him "mighty warrior." God then reduced his army from 32,000 to just 300 men before sending them into battle. The logic? Completely backwards. The victory? Absolutely God's.
David was a shepherd boy, the youngest and smallest of his brothers, yet he was the one who stepped forward to face a giant when trained soldiers cowered in fear. His confidence wasn't in his experience or his strength—it was in the God who had been with him while tending sheep.
Peter walked on water—until he started thinking about it. The moment he began to measure what he was doing, to consider the impossibility of it, he began to sink. His faith didn't fail because of the storm; it failed because his focus shifted from Jesus to his circumstances.
The Miracle of Five Loaves and Two Fish
Back to that crowd of 5,000. While Philip was calculating costs, a young boy offered what he had: five barley loaves and two fish. It was laughably insufficient. Andrew even said, "But what are they for so many?"
Yet Jesus did three profound things with that small offering:
First, He received what was available. He didn't reject it because it was too small. He didn't wait for something more substantial. He took what was offered.
Second, He gave thanks before multiplying it. Gratitude preceded the miracle. He thanked the Father for what seemed insufficient before it became more than enough.
Third, He trusted the Father completely. Not the quantity, not human ability, but the power of God to provide.
The result? Not only were 5,000 men (plus women and children) fed, but there were twelve baskets of leftovers. God's provision exceeded the need.
The Cost of Following
Here's an important clarification: faith is not reckless. It's not about making foolish decisions and expecting God to bail us out. It's not "name it and claim it" theology where we demand what we want and call it faith.
True faith is Spirit-led obedience that aligns with God's Word. It's hearing God's voice and responding, even when the path isn't clear. It's bringing what we have—however small—and trusting God to do what only He can do.
Following Jesus costs everything. Not necessarily our finances, but our control. It means presenting ourselves as living sacrifices, saying, "God, here I am. I'm broken. I've made mistakes. I've sinned. But I'm giving you everything I've got."
Walking by Faith, Not by Sight
In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul writes, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." He's talking about the ultimate faith journey—trusting in the promise of eternal life even though we can't see it yet.
Our bodies are temporary tents, wearing out and breaking down. But for those who trust in Christ, there's a promise: "We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
This is the greatest step of faith—trusting Jesus Christ for salvation. Admitting we've sinned, believing that Jesus died for our sins, and committing to follow Him. It doesn't always make logical sense. The path isn't always clear. But the destination is secure.
Where God Guides, He Provides
So what are you measuring today? What situation are you trying to calculate your way through instead of trusting God with it? What calling have you dismissed because you don't feel qualified or equipped?
God never asks for what we don't have, but He does ask us to give Him all that we do have. And when we do—when we bring our five loaves and two fish, when we step out in obedience even when it doesn't make sense—we get to witness something extraordinary: we see God do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.
The ruler won't always work. The calculator won't always add up. But obedience always works. Because where God guides, He provides. And faith beyond sight is where we discover who He really is.