"We say that we believe. And yet do we? At the slightest difficulty, we cry to God, and if he doesn't answer our prayer within the next five minutes or ten, or twenty-four hours, we begin to doubt. We need to get our heart in tune with God's heart. Because, you see, he's a lover, and he wants us to love him back. For this, he incarnated himself, lived as a man for a number of years, and died a martyr on a cross, all for me. And, by so doing, reconciled me with his Father. I believe that this is so.
When I believe, I am like a tree standing by the water, and I shall not be moved. Yet a tree can be hit by lightning. But for a man or a woman of faith, the lightning passes through them and doesn't touch them, because their faith is strong as God is strong. God doesn't abandon people.
You can say to me, Well, how do I get that kind of a faith? On your knees. (Maybe not literally on your knees, although kneeling can be a good position!) You ask for it. The God who has given you faith in baptism, when you died in Christ and resurrected in Christ, is not going to say 'no' to your request. If there is one request that he says 'yes' to all the time, always, it's a request to grow in faith.
Now and then we all feel tremors begin to shake our faith. Then we must ask God, implore him, beg him, to give us faith, to increase our faith."
- Catherine de Hueck Doherty
The times my faith gets a bit shaky are sadly, the times I need it the most. It always returns, thanks be to God. I say to myself that it will return and that I have doubts because I am sad/depressed/ill etc. I knew a priest that said when we feel as though we have been abandoned or when we are having doubts we must act as though we have no doubts; we must behave as normal - go to church, join in with the prayers etc etc. Pretend to be full of faith. Faith will return.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've also heard the same: that faith is not a feeling, and so when the feeling's not there but we act as though it is, it's because we still trust!
DeleteYes!!
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