Faith - Matthew 21:21

Faith is an interesting thing. It’s something special to believe in something that cannot be seen, heard, or touched, but that you can feel deep down in your soul and simply know it is real.

It is amazing to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that something is real, something is true, and something exists when it cannot be seen, heard, or felt.

That is faith.

There are people who argue on either side about the existence of God or a higher power; I’ll leave that to them to debate to their hearts content. I have no doubt that God exists. I have faith that Jesus walked the earth, died and rose again to save us. I have faith that the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us through the world.

That doesn’t mean everything in life will be easy, with rainbows and unicorns every day. It means that when things get really tough, my faith carries me through. It means that when things are really good, I have faith that I can thank someone for watching over me. It means that when things are complicated, I can take time to pause, pray, and have faith that things will get better.

The world is a very combative place right now. Everyone seems angry at everyone else. Neighbours are treating people like enemies instead of friends. Chaos is roaming freely. Now more than ever is a good time to think about faith, if you haven’t thought about it before.

Faith sees us through good times and bad.

Faith helps us when nothing else can.

Faith is there in the darkest moments of the night, when all seems lost.

I have lived all my life with an anxiety disorder. I have had different treatments for it, including medication and counselling, with complementary self-care therapies like aromatherapy, walking, and yoga. With all the treatments, the thing that has helped me the most over the past ten years has been faith and prayer.

Faith and prayer is not in exclusion of any of these things; definitely follow your doctor’s orders. For me, however, when other treatments lost their effectiveness or weren’t readily available, I found comfort and peace in prayer. I found comfort in the faith that Jesus meant what he said when he said that he gives us the peace that goes beyond all understanding; that the peace he gives does not come from the world.

I trust in that.

I recognize that the things of the earth that I used to go to for distraction (like isolation, TV, or games on my phone/iPad) only caused an additional layer of stress. Sitting with a book of Psalms or reading verses about how Jesus healed everyone by faith — that feeds my soul and calms me like nothing else ever did. There is a peace there, one that I cannot explain any other way that through the presence of God.

It wasn’t there the first time I read through the Bible, but with every reading — like watching a favourite film — I find something new and beautiful that inspires me, gives me hope and a deeper sense of peace.

I have faith that there is still good in the world.

I have faith that people truly care about one another.

I have faith that there is peace that goes beyond all understanding, and if we pause, stop, think about it, and choose to receive God’s love through Jesus, then we truly will love God and love everyone.

Amen!