I have a daily calendar that I absolutely love from She Lives, She Loves, She Laughs. Recently, the daily thought was "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen."
I have to be honest.....I'm not sure that's really the best explaination. Sorry, calendar. I've been thinking about this for several weeks to try and figure out how to express my thoughts to explain why I don't think this is the right explaination of faith.
To me, faith has far less to do with getting what you want, and far more to do with believing that even if you don't get what you want, there is a reason for it.
It's easy to believe when everything is going right for you. When you ask and receive. When you hope for something and it happens. When rain gauges are filled.
But what about the other side of the coin. When bad news comes. When the cure is not to be found. When you pray for something, only to learn that the answer is no. In those situations, faith really comes into play. When this happens, when things go wrong, yet you still manage to believe....that's what faith is all about.
All of us have had dark times in our lives. And it is during those times when we have a choice to make. We either keep believing, or we give up and walk away. Sometimes, I think that walking away would be easier.
But it's like Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own, "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great." So we stay put, and we just keep on praying and trusting and believing. And in the end, things work out like they are meant to.
So, for me, the bottom line is this: Sometimes its hard to believe and to praise and to forgive. But by doing so, we live out our faith. Regardless of whether we get what we want or not.
6 comments:
I found for me without faith I would have never made it through those hard times. Without faith you would be visiting me in a mental institution due to sever depression. Here is another question to ponder: "How do we make though those hard seemingly impossible times without faith?" "If there is no light at the end of the tunnel how do you keep going?"
Love the blog!!
~Loud Oklahoma Girl
Word!
True dat. (I was inspired by Lyndse's comment.)
Seriously though. Good stuff here. It would be hard to get through the messiness when confident assurance is hard to muster.
-College Roomie
Some day, we'll have to consume copious amounts of wine and further discuss this. You may or may not know that I am not a Christian, but I still very much have faith. For me, it's founded more in individual things like the human capacity for good, the earth, my own instincts and abilities.
Your post, eloquent as always, describes beautifully how most religious people would relate their faith. I love the League of Their Own quote.
Tiff once again I think you have good insight. I believe that faith is walking when you would rather, lie down in despair, knowing that blessing is found at the end, yet believing that God will give you the strength each moment to walk in His strength and peace
Very true; however, it's much easier said than done and it's much easier to say it when things are looking up. I think it's normal to grieve for a short while after disappointment, but then you have to get back on your feet and find faith in God.
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