Have you ever traveled to Chicago?  If so, then you have experienced the brisk, cold wind that blows between and around the tall buildings that sit near Lake Michigan.  The “windy city” is known for many exciting sites to experience each time one travels there.  As a child who grew up knowing only the flat expanse of Indiana corn and bean fields, the large city of Chicago was almost more than I could ever fathom.  Needless to say, I found myself overwhelmed by the crowd of people, the lights, the noise of traffic, honking drivers, and the bustling activity everywhere I looked.

As a child experiencing Chicago for the first time, I had never heard of a preacher who led great revivals in that city.  That’s true;  the name Dwight L. Moody meant nothing to my ten-year-old mind, but that fact (that I did not know) did not change the fact that this preacher led the city in one of the sensational revivals this nation has ever known.  Moody spoke of the fact that God changes lives, and like the great preachers since his day, many people were led to see the truth about God.

Now maybe we are reading this blog, and wondering, what does Moody, Chicago, and a scrawny Indiana kid have in common.  That’s a fair question.

Back in the 1970 & 80s, Chicago’s claim to fame was having the “tallest” building in their city.  We traveled into that building during our journey to this city.  I remember it well.

Climb with me into the back of my Aunt Carol and Uncle Don’s vehicle; ride with me through the entryway of the building and sense the climb as we felt the vehicle move us higher and higher as we circled the interior driveway that led us toward the peak of the building.  It seemed like it took us FOREVER to reach the top.  Round and round we drove.  If motion sickness is your thing, then this clearly was not a path you would ever wish to take.  As a kid, I remember thinking, “This is so cool,” but back then, my stomach was young, and my experiences limited, so what did I really know.  Today, as I look back in my mind, I wonder how my mom made it all that way without becoming ill, but she did.  I suppose it was because she was so much younger back then too.

Finally, Uncle Don parked the car and led us into an elevator.  Now, riding elevators was not something I experienced every day of my life, so I found myself intrigued by all the rows of buttons shining on the wall.  Truly, I will never forget that elevator ride because I remember how my knees felt and the way my stomach seems to drop lower as the elevator rode us floors and floors HIGHER to the top of the building.

We stepped outside onto the top platform of the tallest building in America (at the time)—the John Hancock Building. Then, immediately I thought, “I am on the top of the world.  I can see E—V—E—R—Y—T—H—I—N—G!”

Moody spoke so many words of great truth throughout his time of ministry in the great city of Chicago, and these words remind me of how my child-like mind felt that day so many years ago.

“God makes a promise.

Faith believes it.

Hope anticipates it.

Patience quietly awaits it.”

• What PROMISE of GOD are we clinging to on this day?
• Are we clinging to our FAITH in GOD, knowing that He will hear our prayer and answer?
• Do we place our HOPE in GOD, fully trusting, even anticipating the day our prayer request will be experienced?
• Can we dig into God’s Holy Word and remain down upon our knees as we PATIENTLY AWAIT GOD’S MOVEMENT & answers to our prayer?
• Are we FULLY TRUSTING in God & SeeIng With Eyes of FAITH?

There are so many passages we could read from the Bible at this moment, but the one that I wish to share comes from the Apostle John.  The beloved disciple was given the opportunity to walk beside Jesus throughout every day.  John saw the way Jesus moved; John heard the sound of Jesus’ words; and John could reach out and touch Jesus’ body as he walked close beside JESUS CHRIST.

Can we say the same?

• Are we seeing with eyes of faith the way Jesus continues to move in the lives of people we see?
• Are we hearing the testimony of truth with ears of faith as we see the Holy Spirit lead those we know to a saving faith in Jesus?
• Are we walking so closely beside our Savior that we sense Him there beside us every moment of every day?

Let us walk throughout the span of this one day as we walk close beside Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit of God speak to our hearts, seeing the many ways we can be the hands and feet of Jesus, and walking so closely beside our Savior that we bump into Him as we walk.

Let us WALK—ALIVE—fully knowing we have the Son of life living within us!

Let us WALK—SEEING with EYES of FAITH!