Yesterday, I realized that belief leads to faith, but only with trust and opportunity.
People will say to someone with doubt, “have faith.” What they mean is trust that it will happen even when you don’t see how it can.
I bought into the thought that faith was independent of trust. It is not. Even in those situations, we are placing our trust in the idea that what people have told us is valid, that things will work out because a higher power is looking out for us, that the doubt we are experiencing is unfounded, or that other people will come through for us if and when we need it.
As I sit in my car, early on a Sunday morning, I too am struggling with doubt and fear. The songs on my car stereo are imploring me to “wait on the Lord” and trust because there is “a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Waiting in itself is an act of trust. If you can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel, you will only proceed if you believe and trust that it is not an oncoming train.
Trust is a necessary component of faith. We can see that in the story of Simon Peter, the fisherman who dared to step out of the boat and onto the water. In that moment, he chose to trust his friend and step up and out of the safety of the boat. This was an act of faith.
He believed that it was possible because he could see it with his own eyes. He believed that he too was capable, so he took action. It was only when his faith wavered that he began to sink into the waves. His fear overwhelmed his belief, and he stopped trusting in his own ability or maybe his worthiness to be out there standing atop the waters with someone who was obviously so far beyond his stature as a mere human.
His belief in his own ability gone, Peter cried out for help to the one person he perceived as having the ability to help him when, perhaps, Peter had the power to do it himself all along, if only he could trust without fear.
~ elr
What Does Faith Look Like?
One cannot have opportunity without an idea and the perceived ability to carry it out.
One cannot believe without having an idea and validating it.
One cannot fully trust without validation of an ability.
…and one cannot have faith without belief, trust, and opportunity.
For faith is an action, based on a belief and trust, that is taken when an opportunity presents itself.
NOTE: Validation does not need to be rooted in fact. It need only be accepted. Thus, misplaced faith occurs when perceived ability and/or validation is not rooted in repeatable, verifiable fact.
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