Finding Faith In Days Like These

We all know that these days are quite stressful. Different people are dealing with different sources of anxiety, fear, etc.

This morning, the day I’m writing this post, the anxiety was centered around finding a UPS drop-off location for a package.

I found it, finally. I kept looking for a building of some kind with the UPS sign on it. The location turned out to just be a drop box outside the bank. Such things seem very serious when we are in the moment, and the stress can be amplified when we assume that what we are looking for is one thing (a building with a sign) when in fact it is actually something else (a drop box outside a totally unrelated business).

The key to finding faith in days like these is to know what you are looking for.

Faith at its core is not exactly what most people think it is. When we go looking for our faith in situations and circumstances that are challenging, we often have trouble finding it because we are actually looking for the wrong thing.

Faith is not so much about knowing what is going to happen, or knowing that everything is going to be okay. Faith as described in Scripture actually goes much deeper than that.

Faith is another way of talking about our relationship with God.

When you think about all of the people mentioned in Hebrews 11, what do they all have in common? It is their deep and abiding relationship with God. The only way these people could possibly have brought themselves to actually follow God’s call on their life is because they had a very close, personal relationship with God, and through that relationship they trusted that God would not lead them into temptation, but deliver them from evil. Through knowing God, they knew that they were not alone in the world, and they did not have to face adversity on their own.

Faith is found by cultivating a deep and abiding relationship with God…

…because faith, fundamentally speaking, just is a deep and abiding relationship with God. If one wants to have a healthy and loving relationship with a spouse, then it is necessary for both people to get to know each other deeply, which builds trust. Any kind of positive, healthy relationship involves all parties involved knowing, trusting, and caring about each other. The same is true concerning our relationship with God. Finding our faith is only as difficult as participating in what is known in the Wesleyan tradition as the means of grace. Some of these means of grace include prayer, Bible study, worship, Holy Communion, and there are many others. By participating in these things and by being in fellowship with other believers, we are growing in the grace and love of God, and we are growing in our faith — that is, growing our relationship with God.

If you are looking for a way to start building a deeper relationship with God and growing in your faith, here are a couple of prayers that are excellent starting points. The first is, of course, The Lord’s Prayer, which so many know by heart:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for Thine is the Kingdom,
and the power,
and the glory forever.

Amen.

When you pray, really dwell on the words and think about what you are actually saying. For example, when we pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, what are we really saying? Do we, in fact, forgive others? Are there people out there we have been withholding forgiveness from? If so, what are we asking God to do with regard to forgiving us? Such care and consideration and deeper meditation on our prayers serves to deepen our relationship with God.

Another prayer is the Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition, commonly referred to simply as The Wesleyan Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou are mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

“A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition,” United Methodist Hymnal #607.

Try praying the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer first thing in the morning when you wake up and see how starting your day with prayer changes how you see the world and other people throughout your day.

I could go on with recommendations for how to grow your relationship with God, how to grow in your faith, but prayer is always a great place to start. The key is to be intentional, to actively participate with God in this thing called life. Finding our faith is not as difficult as you might think.

And it sure beats driving around in the rain looking for a UPS drop-off.