INSPIRING WISDOM

Faith

Faith is identified with trust…I trust a power I comprehend. I am conscious of His presence, though I cannot perceive Him face to face. Do I need to meet the architect of this building in person to know that a mind planned it? Faith is the wholehearted realization of the Divine Presence accompanied by the conviction of His profound goodness. Faith is the infinite in man reaching out to join its Source. The faculty of reason is best equipped to act upon material reality; it is best qualified to interpret the visible and the tangible aspects of existence. Faith, on the other hand, attains invisible heights of reality, it penetrates into the innermost depths of truth; it communes with the Divine Mind. Faith seeks out the ultimate forces of existence, which transcend the finite group of human faculties. Faith in God is not necessarily arrived at through the process of human reasoning; faith is greater than reason.

Superstition prefers to keep itself in darkness; it prefers to be guided by fancy… The superstitious finds a barrier between himself and God; the man of faith finds himself very near to God… Superstition goes hand in hand with ignorance; faith goes hand in hand with enlightenment. Faith is not based on the supernatural, but on the natural. Faith is based on what we see and experience. Everything that is or breathes, every flower, every tree, every rock, and stream, is a revelation of the Divine Presence in the world. Faith differs also from belief… Belief stands midway between reason and faith; it is prompted by reason, and lifted on the shoulders of logic to a place too high for the reach of reason. But it is less than faith… Belief alone does not impel one to devotion; nor does one who believes hope for any aid from the object of his belief.

We speak of God as the Universal Mind, which is unlimited... And the moment you admit the existence of the Universal Mind, from which all existence emanates, you are naturally admitting the existence of God. The man of faith knows God as a living reality, he feels His presence and turns to Him for aid… The man of faith knows that he is not alone in this world, but that the Universal Creative Power that called him into existence, is constantly watching over him…The power of faith…is present in man's nature…

Doubt, the negative of faith, is an abnormal state of mind. It is often the result of an attempt to find the Infinite with the power of reason. And when this limited power of man fails in its attempt, doubt and even denial of God's existence results. Doubt can be destroyed not by argumentation, but by affirmation; by transporting ourselves from the limited confines of reason into the boundless field of prayer. An affirmative prayer for faith, daily offered, will put doubt to flight… Do not think it inconsistent to affirm faith when your heart is filled with doubt. An affirmation is a prayer for the state in which we desire to be, regardless of the state in which we are. Until a person becomes firmly and happily entrenched in the knowledge of God's existence and love, he frequently alternates between periods of doubt and periods of faith. When he is experiencing a period of doubt, his spirit seems in reality to have sunk into gloomy and sterile depths. It is a barren and empty period in his life; a period of dissection and criticism. Look but around you and you will see God in action…you will see the hand of the Invisible Architect in motion. Who is it that opens my eyes, my senses, to enjoy the sun, the air and all the beauteous sounds and sights about me.

Faith does not depend on the experiences of the past. Faith is based on revelation, but a revelation that takes place every day… The Divine Mind spoke not only to our ancestors; He is speaking also to us; it is for us only to understand the symbols of His speech. Pray for faith, and your supplication will be answered; your entire outlook upon life will then be altered, your very nature will undergo a transformation… Pray for faith, and you will receive the blessings of faith.