Faith. Believing in something you can’t see, and it seems to form the base of Christianity.
Often times, I find myself realizing that without faith, I don’t think I’d see God anywhere in life. As we go about our daily lives, how many times do we actually look for God? If we don’t seek Him, it seems like He’s not there.
There just simply isn’t enough of God occupying our minds nowadays. Most of our thoughts are occupied by things such as financial problems, relationship drama, catching up on the latest Korean TV show, the latest Hollywood gossip, stresses relating to school and work…it’s almost like a Spiritual Wasteland.
With all these thoughts running through our minds, there just simply isn’t enough room for God to fit in.
So I often catch myself asking myself… “Why do I need faith?” If I look at it from a non-believer’s point of view, why would we need faith? Why is it so important? Why would I care?
If I were a non-believer…honestly it wouldn’t seem like there was anything missing.
Nowadays it’s so easy to gain satisfaction…faith would seem so old fashioned. A lot of times, faith calls us to be patient, to trust in God’s timing. If I’m not going to gain immediate satisfaction, does it really matter? Is it really worth the space in my already cluttered life?
When I pray and nothing happens…I think “What’s the point?”
Close your eyes. What is the life you’re living like? What does society throw at you?
For me, I think of things like celebrities, unattainable beauty standards, reality television, homeless people, children trapped in poverty, people suffering from mental and physical illnesses, families being torn apart…so many things come to mind.
You know what else comes to mind? My family. My friends. My teachers, lecturers. The nice aunty who always takes my order from the kopitiam I frequent. All the people that are in my life who all have their own struggles, their own hurts.
Is that all there really is to life, though? Just living day in and day out…going about our jobs, almost like a routine. Where’s the meaning? What’s the point?
I don’t know about you, but I always thought I needed to live up to the standards of society. To be as beautiful as celebrities appear to be, as happy as the people around me make out to be, as academically talented as those in my year group etc. All the time spent trying to meet those expectations had left me broken down. When I couldn’t achieve those expectations, I felt like a failure. And yes…I asked myself “What’s the point? Is this all there is to my life…just chasing after expectations?”
That’s where faith comes in.
With faith, there is God. With God, there is hope. Hope gives you something bigger to live for. Rather than just focusing on a life that just seems so superficial, I’m living for now, living for eternity.
There is more to life than trying to get rich, get powerful, going on vacations or having a prestigious career. We don’t live to work. Faith reminds us that there is something BIGGER than what we are living for.
Live for Him.
The world seems so cold, lacking gentleness and hope. Things can seem grey. It can seem lonely, almost selfish even, as everyone seems to be working for their own benefit.
And right now, I’m trying my best to live my life for Him. And through His grace, touch the lives of people I meet.
Because God is still around. He’s all around us in our lives. It’s up to us to seek Him though. It’s up to us to seek God in our everyday lives – through the people around us, through the little moments that we overlook every day.
That is why faith matters. Without faith, without hope…we would crumble under the weight of the world.
“Your faith can encourage you, give you strength, help you in hard times and give you hope. The best definition of faith, I believe comes from the Bible, Hebrews 11:1: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
“Only God can shut out the waves of depression and feelings of loneliness and failure that come over you. Faith in God’s love alone can salvage the hurt mind” – David Wilkerson,
“Faith is not the power of positive thinking; it is believing in God and trusting that His will is always best even when you cannot understand why” – Shari Howerton