Refined, Redefined Faith (Raw III)

I wrote a post about mourning my faith last month. I knew it was safe to vent here, but I didn’t know how much it would help. Several of you commented. The wisdom that was imparted in a few lines written by a few women was priceless. Thank you, dear blogging friends. You’ve told me some truths that I have been pondering since then.

At first I wanted to be defensive. “I knew that,” was my initial response. But, I didn’t “know that,” after all. I’m beginning to learn, though.

What have I learned? Well, I now realize that I did not really understand faith. In some respects, I did. But I never saw the difference between faith and blind obedience. (Thanks, Kim). Obedience and faith are related in that obedience is a by-product of faith. This I knew, but I didn’t really know. I’ve heard it said that the longest distance in the world is the 12 inches from the brain to the heart. So true.

So, what is faith. Over and over I’ve been repeating the scripture definition in my mind. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, KJV). Or,  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (NIV).  Also,  “ Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (NLT).

Simply stated definition. Why is that so difficult to “get?” Why did I complicate it? I ‘d added addendum’s and provisos to it that set me up to fail. No longer. You were right, Val, my faith wasn’t lost. I had just forgotten what it looked like. It needed to be refined so I could see it!

Thanks, each of you that commented. Your tenderness with me is much appreciated. Your honesty was enlightening. I read every word over and over with tears in my eyes. I no longer mourn, because of you.