Faith that works happens when I truly turn my will and my life over to God’s care. It’s so beautiful and freeing sometimes, but lots of times this turning over is like a surrender. I will fight and fight until I can’t fight anymore, until I’m hemorraging morality and self-esteem and self-care. Then I throw up the white flag and surrender. But I think this is a demonstration of incredible faith. I know that my God will come to restore, not to conquer; to love, not condemn. To believe in this God as opposed to the one who likes me only when I’m good enough is to have a faith that works. This is a God who watches my futile self-will running riot (like a mother watches her two-year-old in a tantrum) and then when I am spent, picks me up, wipes the tears and sweat and spit away and cleans me up for the next one.
…something that you can not see, touch, or don’t fully understand, but still turn yourself over to and resolve to believe and trust. I can see the results of God’s work; I see it in me, as well as others, even though I can not “see” God. However, I can certainly “feel” God’s presence whenever I turn off my own self serving desires and let him go to work.
I believe that every person on Earth wonders or questions (doubts?) to some degree as to how God works. What is His plan for me? Why is this happening? I don’t understand all of the complexities, nor do I ever expect to fully understand, yet I have faith, and I trust in Gods ultimate wisdom and light.
…the question is in what or whom do we place that failth? How about when we get into our cars and drive? We have to have faith that the other drivers are driving to the best of their ability or else we would constantly drive in fear. We believe the sun is going to rise and set everyday. Without this superficial level of faith we wouldn’t be able to survive in a world that our brains still haven’t figured out.
I think faith is believing in something that we can’t necessarily prove and that our best interests are in the hands of someone all knowing and all powerful who cares about even the smallest thing happening in our lives. I think doubt can come from God…as his way of making sure we test him for validity, which then strengthens our faith. My opinion is that doubt that leads to anxiety and keeps us from pursuing God is from Satan. Doubt is healthy when it prompts us to pursue and seek God for answers/reassurance etc.
My doubts about God are really my doubts about myself. God is supremely unknowable. I cannot ever really understand God and Her ways. I can only know that God’s law is of love—all of God’s laws boil down to love: love of God, others and myself. My doubt about God—whether or not She loves me, cares about the suffering in the world, really descended in the form of Jesus, etc.—is really doubt about whether or not I am lovable. It’s really doubt about whether or not I see myself as a victim or a volunteer; whether or not I am willing to accept the good orderly direction of Jesus. My doubts about God are my opportunity to return to my own way of doing things, my opportunity to grab the steering wheel and see if I can drive my life better than God can. I think doubt is normal and to project my doubt on God is my way of attributing my own insecurities to God’s “frailty.” I turn my insides out and project my self-doubt to the outside world. “Do you love me?” I might ask a family member when I am feeling not sure I love him or her. “Are you angry with me?” I ask when I am the one carrying a resentment. “Are you really there, God?” I ask when I have lost my way to my knees and to prayer.
What is faith
Faith that works happens when I truly turn my will and my life over to God’s care. It’s so beautiful and freeing sometimes, but lots of times this turning over is like a surrender. I will fight and fight until I can’t fight anymore, until I’m hemorraging morality and self-esteem and self-care. Then I throw up the white flag and surrender. But I think this is a demonstration of incredible faith. I know that my God will come to restore, not to conquer; to love, not condemn. To believe in this God as opposed to the one who likes me only when I’m good enough is to have a faith that works. This is a God who watches my futile self-will running riot (like a mother watches her two-year-old in a tantrum) and then when I am spent, picks me up, wipes the tears and sweat and spit away and cleans me up for the next one.
Faith is....
Faith is something I cannot see or touch but I can tell when it touches me.
It’s something beyond and outside of me but it effects my daily life.
I want more of it-it seems like living life would be easier.
Faith is feeling and believing in...
…something that you can not see, touch, or don’t fully understand, but still turn yourself over to and resolve to believe and trust. I can see the results of God’s work; I see it in me, as well as others, even though I can not “see” God. However, I can certainly “feel” God’s presence whenever I turn off my own self serving desires and let him go to work.
I believe that every person on Earth wonders or questions (doubts?) to some degree as to how God works. What is His plan for me? Why is this happening? I don’t understand all of the complexities, nor do I ever expect to fully understand, yet I have faith, and I trust in Gods ultimate wisdom and light.
YBFAM,
Dean Floyd
I think we all know how to have faith...
…the question is in what or whom do we place that failth? How about when we get into our cars and drive? We have to have faith that the other drivers are driving to the best of their ability or else we would constantly drive in fear. We believe the sun is going to rise and set everyday. Without this superficial level of faith we wouldn’t be able to survive in a world that our brains still haven’t figured out.
I think faith is believing in something that we can’t necessarily prove and that our best interests are in the hands of someone all knowing and all powerful who cares about even the smallest thing happening in our lives. I think doubt can come from God…as his way of making sure we test him for validity, which then strengthens our faith. My opinion is that doubt that leads to anxiety and keeps us from pursuing God is from Satan. Doubt is healthy when it prompts us to pursue and seek God for answers/reassurance etc.
Kelly
Doubts
My doubts about God are really my doubts about myself. God is supremely unknowable. I cannot ever really understand God and Her ways. I can only know that God’s law is of love—all of God’s laws boil down to love: love of God, others and myself. My doubt about God—whether or not She loves me, cares about the suffering in the world, really descended in the form of Jesus, etc.—is really doubt about whether or not I am lovable. It’s really doubt about whether or not I see myself as a victim or a volunteer; whether or not I am willing to accept the good orderly direction of Jesus. My doubts about God are my opportunity to return to my own way of doing things, my opportunity to grab the steering wheel and see if I can drive my life better than God can. I think doubt is normal and to project my doubt on God is my way of attributing my own insecurities to God’s “frailty.” I turn my insides out and project my self-doubt to the outside world. “Do you love me?” I might ask a family member when I am feeling not sure I love him or her. “Are you angry with me?” I ask when I am the one carrying a resentment. “Are you really there, God?” I ask when I have lost my way to my knees and to prayer.