What is Faith? If you had told me four years ago that I would be writing an article about ‘Faith’ I would have said that you were crazy and why would I do that? Even more so if you had told me that I would write a love letter to Faith. Now I would say that Faith is the way out of the insanity that we all suffer from, yet don’t know that we do, as a result of living in what feels like such a dysfunctional world full of fear, hatred and conflict, where we can't see the way out. The way out is in.
Faith is the key to real lasting success by any measure. Faith has nothing to do with believing in a ‘God’. Faith is seeing infinity in the petals of a flower, in the eyes and the joy of a child, in the panorama of the ocean or the awe and wonder in the star-studded night sky and knowing, without question, that there is a Universal intelligence that is guiding all things together with Love.
Faith is the bridge between you and everything. Faith is the 'Great Unseen'.
Faith allows you to leap even when you are terrified. Faith will remove all your fears and everything that holds you back from Self-actualisation.
Everyone lives by Faith; it’s a fact of life. We trust in things and people in order to live from day to day. We trust in chairs to support us, cars to transport us, employers to pay us, phones for communication, etc.
Over time we learn that some things and some people prove more reliable than others. Unfortunately, everything and everyone in this world eventually fails, as everything wears out, winds down, or lets us down. The only exception to this is Faith. Faith is knowing that no-one is an enemy: Faith is knowing that everyone is a teacher on the beautiful winding path that is life.
Faith is spiritualised creativity. So here is my love letter to you, Faith, to say thank you for being in my life.
Take the leap of Faith: The Net will appear
Dear Faith,
You are stillness; a loving source; a light in the darkness; a sower of dreams that never fail to come true. You are surrounded yet never consumed. Thank you for everything that you are teaching me. You have allowed me to trust again despite being betrayed and abandoned by others, since I was a child. Thank you for showing me the way. You have shown me how to step out of my childish fears, and into a state of openness and trust. You have given me my voice back. You are allowing me to express my emotions again, after so many decades living in fear, inside a suit of armour. As my journeyman Mahatma Gandhi said "You must not lose Faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." Steve Jobs said "Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose Faith." I have not lost you, Faith, I have gained you.
Faith...
Thank you for not requiring that I believe in a man-made 'God' only a belief in the Universe, a feeling of wonder and awe. I trust the inherent love and intelligence that is working through me and all of creation. You are the subtle chain which binds us to the infinite. Thank you for never abandoning me.
I know that you are not blind, Faith, and neither is your cousin, Grace, and that some people do not want to wake up from their self-constructed nightmares: They are self-destructive and want to reel everyone into their drama. Thank you for making me trusting, yet vigilant. I trust in you, but I will tie up my horses. I know that trusting in you doesn't mean trusting that every person will do the highest or the right thing. Yet through you, Faith, I can see that spirit works in, as, and through each and all of us. You, Faith, have given me an attittude that whatever happens, serves a higher good, and that you do not roll dice, however it might initially appear to the contrary. Faith, you stretch and reshape tragedy into success and bliss. You have guided me to know with certainty that I am on the right path and that a higher intelligence is working through me and everyone else, however Machiavellian some may seem, for the highest good of humanity. That there is a purpose, lesson and opportunity arising from every pleasure and hardship. Thank you for showing me that I cannot fail when I am true to my purpose of helping others to find themselves. I see every obstacle as a course redirection towards this purpose, sent by me, through you, from the part of me that loves me the most.
By living in your light it transforms my perception and experience of the world. You, Faith, are not the opposite of reason, you are the most practical, reasonable and constructive way of being in order to live an inspired life. When I cultivate the garden of you, Faith, in my life, it comes alive in a new way each morning, like a flower. So few of us don't even have the Faith of a flower, and that is what is holding us back, through fear of being trampled underfoot rather than embracing the beauty of our own hearts. You have taught me to love my Self and to be fearless every day.
I have realised that you are not a commodity for me to earn or own, you are a divine order that pervades all things, the light behind my eyes, the mysterious intuitive intelligence and wisdom of the sages that emanates from the centre of creation, that speaks quietly to me as the intuitive wisdom of my heart. Faith is a knowing, a feeling, within my heart, beyond the reach of proof. This is how I am learning to be my own guide, to find the kingdom within from Love and abundance, not fear of scarcity. Thank you for guiding me inwards. I realise that as teachers come and go, that you will never leave me and that I will never abandon my Self. You are the secret to the treasure that is already inside me, thank you for giving me the key to it, and teaching me that my own heart us my ultimate guide to the daily highest choices on my path. Faith is assuming that we will always make the right choice, and let go of the outcome. Intuition works so much better than goals!
You have shown me that as my belief in you, Faith, is strengthened, that I have found that there is no longer the need for me to have a sense of trying to control everything, and that things will flow as they will, and that I will flow with them like a river flows to the ocean, to my great delight and in a way that truly benefits the world. Your attitutude is the very opposite of holding on. You have shown me that every existential crisis, every spiritual dis-ease is a new beginning, not a Swan Song. You have shown me that I do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going: That I may recognise the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with you, Faith, together with courage and hope. Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens. You give me blazing, serene hope. You have shown me that nothing can withstand the impact of spiritual insight. You have shown me that I can pray, and let you take away Fear. You have taught me to stop judging, let go, and surrender my life to you. Reason used to be my soul's left hand, but you, Faith, are my right. I have Faith in you, for you have Faith in me. You are the strength through which our shattered world shall emerge into the light. My reason nourishes you, and you nourish my reason. You are a knowing, a feeling, in my heart, beyond the reach of Proof, Doubt or Fear: They cannot scale or harden the now open and tender supple walls of my heart. I live and love in your light. You are not something that I can grasp, but you are something that I am growing into. You help me move mountains. You bring perspective to the limitless sky. You have shown me that I can trust in my own light and the beauty of my heart. When I was driven to my knees, you helped me to stand up again. You believed in me, and gently held me up until I believed in my Self. With you, Faith, I will follow my bliss and the Universe will open doors for me where there were only walls.
"Faith can move mountains" Matthews 17:20
Saint Augustine said "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this Faith is to see what you believe." Such beauty!
You are never blind. You are an intelligent act of my will. You connect me to reality and the great unseen. Through you I hear and understand the will of the Universe. You are showing me my true purpose, every day, one day at a time. According to Matthew, Jesus (who was a man who believed in you and also in Love, to the point that he was Love) said "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." You have taught me to be present, and to believe in 'The Power of Now.' Worry was my short sightedness, but you gave me a new pair of glasses that I can not take off: You changed my perception of the world. You worked miracles by showing me to also trust in Love and not in Fear. You are the first thing that I pack on any journey, every day. You are the substance of hope - of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Faith, you have guided me to clarity about our current societal malaise where we emphasise superiority over inclusivity: We are so lost on the path as asleep automatons not knowing why we are here. We are fragmented, divided and disconnected from ourselves and each other. We confuse fragmentation with self-actualisation on our continuous quest for more, driven by a sense of unworthiness and scarcity rather than radical wholeness, integrity, authenticity and Enlightenment.
You have shown me that you are the only solution to life’s suffering. You have shown me that you have allowed me to take the first step, even when I don’t see the whole staircase. You are the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. You have taught me that although it is always darkest before the dawn, that you are the key to the day and the lock to the night.
You are an oasis in my heart, my quiet place of grateful solitude, which will never be reached by the caravan of continuous catastrophising thinking. You are there, calm, in the middle of the blackest storm. Circumstances don't dictate my joy and my inner peace is untouchable thanks to you. You sit me down at the seat of my soul. You taught me to believe in me, and that I can meet any challenge with a smile, and say thank you, friend, for what you will teach me: Let's go!
You are the breath that gives me life. You are the highest passion in me, and you always take me further. You are the vitamin to my soul. I cannot live in health without you, any more than I can do without air, food or shelter. You have stored in my heart such strength and ability, and you allow me to tap into these superpowers, in service to others. You are a passionate intuition. I do not want to live without you. I do not want to be Faith-less again. With you on my side, everything has become clear. You have shown me that having you, Faith, in my heart is the best, safest and only course. You have alloweed me to take a leap, Faith, and indeed the net that you promised did appear, just like you whispered softly in my ear: We leapt together, and we cried and laughed with joy.
Trust in Faith: You won't fall. Only Fear tells you otherwise, but Fear is a liar
I was introduced to you through prayer, and I hear your guidance through meditation. When I can’t see you, I now remember to look inwards: You are always there. You have taught me that to have a heart that is full of courage, that my heart needs to be full of you, Faith, and your sister, Love.
Every tomorrow has two ways of being. I can take hold of tomorrow with you, or without you, but then I would need to hold the hand of Fear: That, I will not do. I trust you without reservation. When I didn’t, I was full of Fear. Now that I do, I am full of Love, and Fear has disappeared, as he was never really real. I have said goodbye to Fear, as I never needed him and he kept trying to lead me astray, away from my path. He was a liar, who shouted in my ear, when you only speak Truth, in hushed tones. I have Faith in you Faith, and it is in you that my strength rests and awakens. I am still far from being what I want to be, but with your help I shall succeed, although it will take me a lifetime, but that is the point of my life, and everyone else’s. You remind me of who I really am, not who I think I am, and for that I will be forever grateful. You allow me to live with Grace, and to be so sure and certain of you both that I could stake my life on you a thousand times over. With you I would be twice armed when I go into battle, but with you I don’t need to. You guide me to responding rather than reacting, lean away, reflect a while, then act.
You have shown me that no explanation of who you are is necessary or possible, and that the Truth that you are guiding me with can’t be put into words. It is beyond the power of Reason to believe. Like gravity, you are powerful, unseen, and reliable. You have shown me that I can only know you by dropping out of my mind and opening my heart. You have taught me that you are a feeling, and that I can only know you through my heart. You have given me an inward reservoir of courage and serenity.
If I cultivate my relationship with you, by getting out of my own way, I know that you pave the path that leads to Self-mastery. I always had the seeds of you within me. It did take an unconscious crisis in my mind to nourish and encourage you to grow in my heart. I know that’s ok, as that is always the way with you. I have come to know that you are the most important element in my life. You keep me in balance, give me deep roots, and you have helped me to build indestructible foundations for my new conscious life.
Faith: The keystone or building block to any life that contains joy, peace, love, success, and Truth
You are like the ocean, and when I swim I don’t need to grab hold of you, for when I do I sink, struggle and drown. When I don’t try to grab you I simply float, and my mind can quieten.
I hadn’t realised that you also go by the name Love, for you are twins.
My journeyman, Albert Einstein, who has passed, said “That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible Universe, forms my idea of God.” This is how I see you too. If you were good enough for Albert, you are good enough for me. I am sorry if I ever doubted you, but I know that you don’t judge or resent me.
I know that you will never send me anything that I can’t handle.
I love you,
Olly
PS. Here are a few more notes that I made while writing my love letter to you. I don't believe in 'a God' but rather, like Einstein, in a Universal Force that might be called 'Love' or "Faith'. But for those who seek the full take on you, Faith, I have done my very best to be comprehensive about you. Here we go:
George Michael's take on Faith
"Oh, but I need some time off from that emotion
Time to pick my heart up off the floor
Oh, when that Love comes down without devotion
Well, it takes a strong man, baby
But I'm showin' you the door
'Cause I gotta have Faith
I gotta have Faith
Because I got to have Faith, Faith, Faith,
I got to have Faith, Faith, Faith."
A letter from Albert Einstein to his daughter on Faith's sister, Love
In the late 1980s, Lieserl, the daughter of the famous genius, donated 1,400 letters, written by Einstein, to the Hebrew University, with orders not to publish their contents until two decades after his death. This is one of them, for Lieserl Einstein:
"When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.
I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.
There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.
When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness.
Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.
This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.
To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = MC2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.
After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy...
If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.
Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.
However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.
When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.
I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it's too late to apologise, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer!"
Your father, Albert Einstein
Wisdom comes through Faith
William Shakespeare wrote "Now, God be praised, that to believing souls gives light in darkness, comfort in despair."
Maya Angelou wrote "I believe the most important single thing beyond discipline and creativity, is daring to dare."
Victor Hugo wrote "A faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing."
Alan Watts wrote "Faith is a state of openness or trust."
Sören Kierkegaard wrote "Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further... The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays."
Henry David Thoreau wrote "The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness."
Thomas Aquinas wrote "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."
Albert Einstein “I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.”
Voltaire wrote "Faith consists in believing what reason cannot."
Anne Frank wrote "He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!"
Deepak Chopra wrote "According to Vedanta, there are only two symptoms of Enlightenment, just two indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward a higher consciousness. The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don't bother you anymore. You become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous."
Immanuel Kant wrote "I had therefore to remove knowledge, in order to make room for belief."
Pope John Paul II "Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence."
Abraham Lincoln said "Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
Pat Buckley said "I hold that religion and faith are two different things."
GK Chesterton wrote "To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless."
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote "The Faith that stands on authority is not Faith... All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen."
James E Faust wrote "A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being."
Pope Benedict XVI said "Having a clear Faith, based on the creed of the church is often labeled today as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and swept along by every wind of teaching, look like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards."
CS Lewis wrote "Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods."
Plato said "We are twice armed if we fight with Faith."
The Buddha said “Doubt everything. Find your own light.”
Eleanor Roosevelt said "If you lose faith, you lose all."
Marianne Williamson wrote "To trust in the force that moves the Universe is Faith. Faith isn't blind; it's visionary. Faith is believing that the Universe knows what it's doing. Faith is the psychological awareness of an unfolding force for good, constantly at work in all dimensions."
Dan Millman wrote "Faith means living with uncertainty - feeling your way through life, letting your heart guide you like a lantern in the dark."
Martin Luther "All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired."
Blaise Pascal said "Faith indeed tells what the senses do not tell, but not the contrary of what they see. It is above them and not contrary to them... Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a Gift from God... Belief is a wise wager. Granted that Faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists."
Mahatma Gandhi wrote "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history... If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living Faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm."
Zig Ziglar wrote "The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty."
Paulo Coelho "None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have faith."
Mother Theresa
“The Simple Path
Silence is Prayer
Prayer is Faith
Faith is Love
Love is Service
The Fruit of Service is Peace”
Sending you love, light, and blessings.
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Olly Alexander Branford MD, MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD
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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.
For those who want to know The Bible's take on Faith
When Moses was nearing death, he gave Joshua instructions about leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, and he said “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deut.31:8). It’s easy to be afraid when you’ve had someone fail you over and over again. However, God never fails His people and His faithfulness is a repeated theme throughout Scripture (Deut 4:31; Josh 1:5; 1 Ch 28:20; Zeph 3:5; 2 Th 3:3). As the believer studies the Bible, he learns that God has perfect integrity and always keeps His promises. The believer only benefits from his study of Scripture when he learns to trust in God and to take Him at His Word. It’s only by Faith that we receive the blessings God offers.
The Faith that trusted Jesus, who was simply a human being, philospher and teacher of Love and Faith, as saviour in order to receive salvation is the same Faith that trusts the divine promises, claiming them for Self and living in confident expectation that God will do what He said. The word Faith is used three ways in Scripture:
Faith, as a noun, refers to the ability to trust, or to a thing or person that is regarded as reliable or trustworthy. Some people have faith (Matt 9:2, 22), others have no faith (Mark 4:39-40), little faith (Matt 17:19-20), or great faith (Matt 15:28). Abraham grew strong in faith and trusted God (Rom 4:19-21). The word is also used of Scripture itself as a body of reliable teaching (Gal 1:23; cf., Acts 6:7).
Faith, as a verb, means to believe, trust, or have confidence in something or someone. It is used of Faith in God (Rom 4:3; Heb 11:6), Jesus (Acts 16:31; 1 Pet 1:8), and Scripture (John 2:22).
Faith, as an adjective, describes someone as being characteristically trustworthy, faithful, or reliable. The word is used both of man (1 Cor 4:17; Col 1:7), and God (2 Tim 2:13; Rev 1:5).
Faith demands an object as it must have something or someone upon which to rest. To receive salvation, the unbeliever is told to “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31a).
The first recorded instance of Jesus saying, “Your faith has made you well” is found in Matthew 9:22. Some versions of the Bible translate Jesus’ words as “Thy faith hath made thee whole,” and, “Your faith has healed you.” To me this is a metaphor for authenticity and integration of your inner child with higher Self. This is what heals you psychologically and spiritually.
Faith is never blind, but is an intelligent act of the will by the believer who hears and understands God’s Word, as “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17; cf. Rom 14:23; Heb 4:2; Jam 1:22). As he learns to live by faith, the growing Christian will submit to God (Rom 12:1), claim promises (Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 10:13; 1 John 1:9), give his cares to God (1 Pet 5:6-7), overcome fear (Deut 31:6-8; Isa 41:10-13), love others (1 Th 4:9), rejoice always (1 Th 5:16), pray continually (1 Th 5:17), be thankful (1 Th 5:18), and live with a relaxed mental attitude (Isa 26:3; Phil 4:11).
We remain in this world and to some degree must trust in people and things to live from day to day; however, we should realise that people fail (Jer 17:5), money fails (Psa 62:10), governments fail (Psa 146:3), and even the creation fails us because it behaves in an unpredictable manner; just ask any meteorologist. Though we rely in a small way in the things and people of this world, ultimately, we should be looking to the Lord Himself, knowing that He alone never fails us and that His promises are always true and reliable (2 Cor 1:20; 2 Pet 1:2-4).
When the believer is living by Faith in God on a regular basis it produces stability in his soul. Over time, God’s Word becomes more real to him than his feelings or ever changing circumstances. God’s Word is stable and always true, whereas our feelings and circumstances constantly change. God’s Word provides us a true estimation of the world as it really is, and His Word gives us a basis for stability in our thinking as well as the choices we make on a daily basis.
The Bible gives us truth that is certain, though our feelings and circumstances are unstable. We may feel good and be completely in sin, or we may feel bad and be completely in God’s will. Jesus was always in the will of God, though there were times He felt grieved and distressed. The Scripture declares that Jesus was, “Despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa 53:3). And just hours before His crucifixion, Jesus “began to be grieved and distressed” (Matt 26:37), telling a few of His disciples, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death” (Matt 26:38). Even during His time of human rejection and sorrow, Jesus was sustained by the Holy Spirit (Heb 9:14). Jesus was always spiritual, even when He was experiencing emotional anguish. Emotions are wonderful, and in many ways complement our spiritual life (Acts 20:36-38; Eph 5:18-20). However, we do well to subordinate our emotions to the truths of Scripture, for God calls us to live by Faith in Him and His Word, not by our feelings (Rom 10:17; Heb 11:6).
The believer who is advancing spiritually may fail occasionally in various situations as emotions overrun his soul. This happens to all of us, and we can think of a few people who failed during times of pressure and then later returned to Faith (Elijah and Peter come to mind, see1 Ki 19:1-18 & Mark 14:66-72; John 21:15-17). Biblically, the Lord extends Grace and calls the believer back into fellowship with Him and to resume his spiritual walk toward spiritual maturity (1 John 1:9; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18).
The Lord now calls us to walk with Him and to grow spiritually day after day by devoting ourselves to the continual study of Scripture (2 Tim 2:15; 3:14-16; 1 Pet 2:2; 3 Pet 3:18), submitting ourselves to Him on a regular basis (Rom 12:1-2), and living by faith in His Word (Rom 10:17; 2 Cor 5:7; Heb 11:6). This is a lifelong journey. During the time we are in the world, we will face many struggles and distractions that will seek to impede our spiritual walk and pull us away from God and His Word, but it is our responsibility to stay the course with His help, and always walk in the light of His Truth.