Life as I Know It; Family; Lifestyle; and Healthy Living!
Published on December 28, 2004 By foreverserenity In Religion
I wasn't sure what to entitle this piece. I've been thinking about this a lot recently, Faith and what it means to me. Recently, a week or two a go, I was channel surfing and saw a program called "Faith Under Fire" on Pax TV. I've never watched this program, nor did I know about it. Upon observation, they were talking about Faith and Christianity; whether Christianity needed updating; what it is; is God real? Stuff like that.

I’m not a born-again Christian, meaning, I haven’t been baptized (in water or otherwise). I consider myself to be a very spiritual person. A strong believer in God and in all that he represents. I say strong because I truly believe in him and I believe my faith to be humble and all-encompassing. I’m not a saint, so, there’s no halo over my head.

Throughout my life (and I’m not that old), I’ve experienced a lot of things and my faith always pulled me through. I believe in miracles. God works them everyday. He’s at work in my life everyday. In the little things that happen, I thank Him. There have been moments when I had no one to turn to, there seemed to be no hope, and an inner voice would say to pray, and I do. Then lo and behold, my problem would be solved. Sometimes it didn’t happen immediately. But by having patience I learned to trust in him and allowed him to move mountains for me.

I've read what other bloggers wrote about their faith. It was after reading one of those articles written by Draginol, Link, then reading what others had to say, and adding my own thoughts; seeing television programs and listening to other people's discussion about their faith and the existence of God (especially after our last election), that really got me thinking about Faith, Christianity, God, and what it all means to me.

What is Faith? My simple answer to this is, “Faith is whatever you believe.” Because of this Faith you hold on to that which you know is true; and that which will give you the inner strength to go on or continue with your life, no matter the adversaries that comes your way. It is that instinct that tells you right from wrong, the love that you have for yourself, your children, your spouse, your parents, etc. My Faith is trust in God. It is what I believe. It is that which helps to make me the person I am today.

I’ve wondered what it is that makes someone question and deny the existence of God; of Faith in our lives. I haven’t found that answer yet. But perhaps as human beings we have to be able to see and physically touch to believe. We have to have proof of that which seems too good to be true. It is after all logical for us to think this way. Is this for real? No way, it can’t be right, that can’t be true! We question something good that happens to us. We feel that it’s not supposed to or we don’t deserve it. I’ve been guilty of that too. Skepticism is one of man’s fallacies. We contradict ourselves because of our uncertainties.

The brain (your mind), for those of you who haven’t discovered this yet, is a very powerful tool. Do you know you can fool yourself into thinking, into believing that you are sick? That you have some disease that has no cure? That you are not loved, are hopeless, have no faith? Of course you know this. Why else would you question yourself? Why else would God’s existence be questioned by so many? Because in our mind there has to be some connection to his existence. But guess what, there is. There are a lot of examples of God’s existence; of faith in our lives. Just take a deep breath; look at yourself in the mirror; look at your children or loved ones. The fact that we exist in this life, along with other life-forms, animals, plants; yet we are the ones with the intelligence and the power to control our lives, our destinies; that’s God. You take a chance getting up everyday (you actually live to see another day – God’s doing), drive your car or take public transportation; that’s faith. It is the faith that you put in yourself and/or someone else’s hands. Hoping that you won’t have an accident (because of a road hog”) or the person driving the public vehicle you take.

Some people will say that it’s just luck, there’s no faith involved here. We know that’s the skeptic’s way of thinking. They will not believe no matter what you tell them. To that end let them continue to believe what they do. At least they believe in something.

It is not my intention to change your beliefs about your faith, or lack there of; or to change your mind about God’s existence. It is however, my intention to get you to think about it. To be open-minded, and accept the possibilities. This brings me to the words of Joan Osborne in her song, One of Us…”If God had a face what would it look like and would you want to see? If seeing meant that you would have to believe….”

Comments
on Jan 22, 2005
I came to a place in my own life after 15 years in a pulpit where I realized what I had come to believe had no relevence in my real life. In layman's terms, the things I believed weren't changing my life @ all. I remembered a lesson God taught me just 3 years into the ministry. I was lying awake in bed with my Bible on my chest when God dropped this thought into my conscious mind out of nowhere; Can you give me one reason why I shouldn't send you to hell? Immediately I began quoting Him scripture from all over the Bible, quotes from all of the teachers I'd come to revere in the last 3 years. Then the nagging question returned, but it was different this time; Can you give me one reason why I shouldn't send you to hell? My mind went totally blank. I couldn't give Him one reason why He shouldn't send me to hell. It was then He shared the greatest truth I've ever been given with me; The greatest distance in all the world is only 18 inches. That's the distance from a man's head to his heart. Then I finally understood this verse;
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:10
When what we believe is determined in our hearts instead of our heads, what we believe will begin to transform our lives. I struggled with my addiction for years until the day that I began to see it the way God saw it; & when I was truly grieved by what I saw, God gradually began to give me the victory over it. When I saw it for what it really was God delivered me from the hold it had on my life. it's the same way with everything else in our lives folks. When we begin to see those things as the enemies they really are, & when we cry out to God for deliverence with our whole heart, that deliverence comes. Why do I believe the things I believe? Because they're gradually transforming my whole life.