2 Corinthians 5:7 or we walk by faith, not by sight— Most people see a can of tomato soup as nothing more than a simple meal. But sometimes the simplest things expose the deepest truths. In a world where uncertainty is rising and fear is becoming a daily companion, even a can of tomato soup can confront us with a question we’d rather avoid: What does it really mean to live by faith? That question sits at the heart of a story about a five-year-old boy who refused to step into a dark pantry to retrieve a can of tomato soup. His mother reassured him that Jesus would be in there with him, but the darkness still felt overwhelming. So, he cracked the door, peered inside, and whispered, “Jesus, if you’re in there… would you hand me that can of tomato soup?” His fear, his hesitation, and his small act of trust mirror the very tension adults carry every day.

The truth is, we all have a pantry—some dark place we don’t want to enter. For some, it’s the rising cost of groceries or the stack of bills on the kitchen table. For others, it’s a marriage under strain, a child drifting into dangerous territory, or a diagnosis that shakes the ground beneath them. These pantries expose what we truly trust. They force us to confront the question beneath all our questions: Will God really come through? The fear is real, but fear must never have the final say. If it does, we will spend our lives standing outside the very places where God intends to meet us.

The apostle Paul captured this tension in a single line: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Faith is not denial of reality; it is refusal to let visible circumstances dictate our steps. Walking by sight leads to worry, panic, and self-reliance. Walking by faith requires courage— the courage to believe that Jesus is already standing in the darkness we fear. The pantry may be dark, but it is not empty. The boy in the story needed reminding, and so do we: Jesus is already in the place we’re afraid to go, holding exactly what we need.