JUST HAVE FAITH
I was having a conversation with a client the other day who seemed to be at a crossroads, in that, she knew what she wanted to do but seemed to not have the belief in herself to do it. She had trouble committing actions to the goals that she desired to achieve. I then said to her that she just needed to have faith. She then responded by asking me, what is faith? We ended up having a great conversation after that, because by her own admission, she realized that she had always been operating in faith, she just needed reminding what faith was.
Authentic faith can influence our everyday daily decisions, it can influence how we behave, it can influence our attitude and how we respond to various things. Faith can even influence the way we drive, it can influence the way we are at home and how we treat our families, loved ones or those we live at home with. Faith can really influence the big choices that we have to make in our lives such as, where we live, the use of our money and what we end up buying, faith can even determine where we end up sending our children to school.
Having complete and utter confidence or trust in your spouse is an example of when you have faith, having confidence in the decisions that your boss makes, or the abilities of your team members is also a demonstration of faith. Faith therefore can permeate all areas of our lives.
But what is faith? Mark Twain has defined faith as the following “Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.” It is a word however which roots are found in religion.
Faith is having the hope and trust in a desired outcome. Faith is having a belief in a desired result. In the spiritual context, the bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “For without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” So, in the spiritual sense it is having a strong belief in God despite how the situation looks. Faith is the thing that you need to stand on when things are looking bleak or look contrary. Faith is what helps to get us through, illuminating the pathway in times of darkness, helping to give us strength in times of weakness. Faith is a very integral part to all human life on earth whether we know it or not.
Having unwavering faith means that you know, that you know, that things will indeed work out. Faith means you will at times have to defy reason and even logic, at times faith means going against the thoughts and feelings of others and even against your own thoughts and feelings. Some would argue that it is not rational. There will be times in life when we will be tested, at work, at home or even in our relationships, and during these times all signs will present a picture that is opposite to what we are hoping and believing for. This is when you have to rely on faith, which although can test one’s strength and conviction, it can really help to pull you from the place you are to the place that you want to be.
This is what I ended up telling my client (whom I am pleased to say has now gone on to put actions behind her goals) and this is what I am also saying to you.
To again answer the question, what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” No matter where you are in life just have a little faith.
