June 12: Sunglasses of Faith

Shae Chablal -Roberts
Creek SDA church

Theme: Trusting God Even When You Cannot See

Scripture: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

Have you ever walked outside into blinding sunlight and instinctively reached for your sunglasses? Without them, everything feels too harsh, too overwhelming to look at. In life, faith works in much the same way. When the road ahead becomes unclear and the weight of reality is too much to bear, faith becomes our spiritual sunglasses, helping us see through what we don’t understand.

In 2023, I faced one of the most difficult seasons of my life. My mother became critically ill, and it was devastating to watch her body break down under the weight of repeated illnesses. The medical expenses seemed insurmountable, and the emotional stress was constant. Still, my family and I did our best to encourage her to hold on and focus on healing.

We prayed and we trusted and by God’s grace, she recovered. She was even able to live on her own again. During that time, I encouraged her to give her life to Christ, and she did. That moment alone made everything we endured feel worthwhile. But just six months later, another wave hit. This time, it was worse. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong. She needed multiple blood transfusions, dialysis, scans, and every kind of specialist imaginable, but still—no answers. It was one of the most helpless feelings I’ve ever experienced.

Even though I had loving friends and family support, I realized something was missing. I needed to put on my sunglasses of faith—to trust God when nothing around me made sense. Eventually, my mother passed away. She didn’t come home this time. And as the firstborn and only daughter, I was the one who had to plan her funeral. My world felt like it had shattered, and I didn’t know where to begin, but I did know who to turn to. I leaned fully into James 1:6:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

I chose to believe. I prayed, not with fear, but with faith—knowing that God would guide, carry, and give me strength I didn’t have on my own. People around me wondered how I could remain so calm while walking through such grief. The truth? I wasn’t holding myself together—God was holding me.

Like in the poem Footprints in the Sand, I knew I was being carried through the darkest valley. And each time the pain surged; I reached for my sunglasses of faith—choosing to trust the God who sees even when I cannot. Life doesn’t always give us answers. But faith allows us to keep moving even in the dark. When the path is uncertain and the future is blurry, God calls us to trust—not in what we see, but in who He is.

So today, I challenge you: when the sun is too bright, the way is unclear, or grief overwhelms your soul—put on your sunglasses of faith. Trust the One who walks beside you. Because truly, “we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Thank You for being our anchor in the storms of life and our light in the darkest valleys. When we cannot see the way forward, help us to remember that we were never meant to walk by sight, but by faith in You. Strengthen our hearts when we are weary and remind us that You are always near—carrying us, comforting us, and guiding us.

Lord, we surrender our fears, our questions, and our grief into Your hands. Give us the courage to put on our sunglasses of faith, trusting that even when we don’t understand, you are still in control. Help us to rest in the peace that only You can give, knowing that Your plans are always good, even when they are beyond our understanding.

May we walk daily in step with You, believing without doubting, and leaning into Your everlasting arms.

In the mighty and faithful name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.