Knock Knock

What is the meaning of faith?

How can we measure true faith?

How can we tell when our faith in god is truly justified?

When the chips are down and we our facing real adversity and our situation seems completely hopeless do we turn to god?

There will be many times in our lives when doors keep shutting in front of us. The dreaded “no” keeps being thrown in our face when we go knocking on those doors. Somehow we still believe in our ideas but it seems impossible to get anybody else to be interested. This is the moment that the really strong will switch into overdrive. The tough keep going.

There are so many examples in history of successful people who have found the going sticky at times. Just about every single successful person did not start out being successful. They had to endure hardship and persevered in the project that they believed in. They kept knocking on doors because they never knew whether that next door might be the one that led to the road of success. They continued with hope and faith. Thomas Edison tried nearly one thousand different patents before he finally created the model light bulb that worked. Each one that did not work wasn’t considered a failure but more of a learning curve. He learned that that one wasn’t the correct way and he was one step closer to finding the right way.

A tremendously positive example of focussing on the solution, not the problem.

So how can one stay strong during extreme times of adversity?

One way is to have faith in God. By turning to God and asking him for guidance he will listen to our prayers and provide us with answers. And sometimes the answer lies in a completely different format to what we expected. There can be no greater example of this than that of “The Virgin Birth”.

Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem with Mary just about ready to give birth. Mary knew that she was giving birth to God’s child but did he have to make life so difficult? Did that census have to come right now?

They knocked on door after door only to be told that there was no room at the inn. But they had faith in God. So they kept trying and eventually they were given shelter in a stable. Jesus was born in that stable.

Now the obvious answer to their dilemma would have been for God to have found a spare room in one of the inns. A room with a comfortable bed. But it was extremely fortuitous that they ended up in that stable. Firstly, the inn keepers would have been obliged to have provided them with a room each as men and women weren’t allowed to share rooms in those days. Joseph, being Mary’s only travelling companion would have missed out at being present at the birth. Secondly all those visitors they had wouldn’t have been able to find them and they wouldn’t have gone home loaded up with Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

Mary and Joseph’s faith in God eventually provided them with a solution to their problem, even though it was in the most unexpected of ways.

Likewise for all of us, in the mitts of adversity we can turn in faith and hope to God to gain our strength. Strength to see us through to the bitter end. But don’t be surprised if his ideas are somewhat different to our own.

How fantastic is that?

Terry Norrington

www.whatisthemeaningoffaith.com

www.cryinthedark.org