Faith is not believing unlikely things without proof. It is unwavering dedication to God, wherein we unite our will with God’s will. When the soul finds faith, it endures hardships for the sake of its goal, remaining loyal no matter how long it takes. When we have faith in God, we trust that every season has a purpose, giving us a sense of security amidst the chaos of life. We no longer place our trust in fleeting material possessions, no longer fearing to lose them. We can have faith in God precisely because God is not transient and ephemeral but eternal and steadfast. When we have detached ourselves from the pleasure and pain of our worldly existence, we have nothing left to lose and we have everything to gain.
In the gospels, Jesus uses his own human life to model faith for us. “Going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want but what you want.’” Jesus’s faith in the Father leads him to detachment from his own will. Jesus foretold his own crucifixion and knew that it must come to pass in order for his life to be fulfilled. His faith was neither blind nor irrational, it was much deeper than that – knowledge of God’s greater purpose. Therefore, he was willing to die for his faith.
Faith is a spiritual vision of the Wisdom of God. In the Book of Hebrews, it is described as a vision into the hidden purposes of creation. The text says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” Faith is a spiritual knowledge of God’s plan for our lives, paired with a commitment to see those plans through to the end.
While describing the faith of Abraham and other biblical figures, the letter to the Hebrews talks about leaving behind our attachments and reorienting ourselves towards God’s purposes. It tells us that if we look back and think about what we have let go of, we may end up returning to shadows of what no longer exists. Faith sets its sights on what is yet to come instead. The text reads, “If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better homeland, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.”
Faith is an experience of future glory, a taste of what is yet to come, in which we see beyond ourselves into realities which are still in the process of becoming. This knowledge is a dynamic relationship between the soul and its greater purpose in God, a reciprocal contemplation which calls us into a future we help manifest. Faith is a flame burning in the heart, inviting us to participate in God’s will while simultaneously equipping us to rise to the occasion.
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