FAITH: The Evidence Aspect

In the last post, Noeses introduced and started the Triple F Series with Faith. We looked at the Substance aspect of Faith and I believe it was insightful. If you haven’t read it, you should definitely read it; not only for the insight, but for a better understanding of this very post. 

 
It is the goal of this post to examine the evidence aspect of faith (as we identified in Hebrews 11:1). Like we discussed in the first post on faith, the evidence aspect requires that you believe in 2 elements which serve as the evidence. These are Your action steps and progress and Just believe!!(The God factor). We shall also look at why some people find it difficult to have faith and the best time to have faith. 

Your Action Steps and Progress
It is important to know first of all that without action everything else doesn't produce results. Action is the most important part in your endeavor to succeed. You can do all the wishing, dreaming, imagination, visualization, and planning but if you don’t take the first step towards your dreams, they will not materialize. For the purpose of this post, there are two perspectives to the action steps and progress evidence.  There is actually more to action.We shall look at a post titled “Take the first Step” later.

The first perspective requires that you find faith from your previous action steps and progress. You can look at a situation or a task and have faith because you have thrived better in that kind of situation in the past and believe you can repeat that same feat or even do better. In other cases, you can look at how far you have come in your pursuit of that particular endeavor to find faith-maybe you have made so much progress that you believe you have the ability to finish it. Usain Bolt, in an interview after the 100m final during the 2015 world championship in Beijing, said that he was able to curb his anxiety before the race when his coach reminded him of the greater feats he has achieved on those same tracks. Usain Bolt first broke the 100m and 200m world records in 2008 on those same tracks (Beijing National Stadium). Now, the question is; what if you don’t have any great past experiences? I suggest that you dwell more on the “substance” aspect of faith. 

The second perspective requires that you find faith to achieve your present goals from the pursuit of your present goals. You need to first of all take the first step towards your present goals. By so doing you can find faith from the progress you may have made.

 
Just believe!!!
From the first post on faith, I believe you understand that this is the God factor. With this, you need to find and hold onto specific promises from your higher power to find faith. Since I’m a Christian I would like to you use a Biblical example: 

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,- Ephesians 3:20 

As a Christian I can hold onto the above scripture to find faith that all my dreams (no matter how big) shall come to pass. That’s an evidence. 

Why don’t you have faith?
After saying a lot about Faith I am pretty sure that most people are wondering why they just don’t have faith. Why is it that those who desire strongly to have faith just don’t have it? I believe there is one simple reason and that is the fact that those who don’t have faith don’t have a reason to have it. Like I mentioned early on, faith has an evidence and a substance. That evidence and substance is the reason. This reason includes yourself, dreams, plans and actions, people, a team, and action steps and progress. You need to believe in yourself, your dreams, your plans and actions, people and a team. The next time you find yourself doubting, evaluate yourself based on the following parameter questions:
I. What are my dreams?
II. Do I have any plans towards my dreams?
III. What are the action steps I have devised?
IV. Do I see the good in people?
V. What are the strengths of my team members?
VI. Do I believe there is something bigger than me?

When do you have faith?
As simple as this question may sound, the underlying principle of its answer is life transforming. As a basic rule, you need to have faith at all times under all circumstances. You need to have faith during good times, bad times and even the times in-between. When all is good, you can believe that the best is yet to come and when everything seems bad, you can believe that things will get better.
The most important time to have faith however is during difficult times. Did I really say that? I know that this may sound a bit strange. It is true that during difficult times life gets out of hand but those are the perfect conditions for faith. The more difficult it is to have faith, the more essential it is to have it. I think that difficult times are the very essence of faith. The French philosopher, Voltaire, defines faith: “faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe”. When times are hard, when you are faced with difficult situations, and when it is beyond the power of reason to believe; that’s the exact moment to believe. I honestly don’t see the essence of faith if it’s not worth having when all odds are against you. 

When you believe in yourself, in your dreams, in your plans and actions, in other people, in a team and in a higher power, nothing can beat you. No wall can stand before you; it will crumble at the mere sight of you. Faith gives you calm confidence. It is the grass root for patience. Les Brown puts it that “Belief and trust gives you patience”. Faith goes to the very root of human existence. It causes “what is not” to “become”
Thanks for reading and remember to make your thoughts known on the blog. Cheers!