The word, Faith, is not particularly a religious term. Its ancient root *bheidh means “to trust.” It evolved into the Latin fides (loyalty) and the Old French feid (confidence).
In the 1200s, French invaders brought it to England, where it became feith, and then further modernisation to become Faith. Its core meaning has always been about placing trust in something or someone.
It’s today, one of the most misunderstood modern words. At its root, it is clear that faith is not a lazy man’s word. It was clear that without responsible work there is no faith at all.
In the New Testament, James 2:17 mentioned that faith without work is dead. The writer actually used the Greek word Pistis (faith), which comes directly from the same ancient active root and goes to say that faith is an action, or at least requires action.
For many people it is an all-done-for-you form of believing common with the christian fold. And for that non believers look at it as synonymous with naivety — believing things without evidence, wishful thinking dressed in spiritual language. But genuine faith is something far more priced than that. It is acting on your deepest convictions before the confirmation arrives. And that deepest conviction is not physical. It is spiritual.
The spiritual dimension of the word, Faith, is that it does not require certainty. In fact, certainty would make faith unnecessary because faith itself is the certainty. Faith exists precisely in the space where you cannot see the full picture, where the outcome is unknown, where the evidence is lacking and you move forward anyway because faith becomes the evidence, the conviction, the substance and so, it is stronger than a feeling. It is an assurance and a knowing to those that have it.
Think about the most meaningful things in your life. The relationships you invested in before you knew they would be worth it. The work you kept doing before it produced results. The healing you pursued before you were sure it was possible. You exercised faith in all of these. You bet on something you could not guarantee. And it shaped your life.
For those whose faith is spiritual, they have belief in something larger than ordinary, the stakes are deeper, wider and higher. Faith becomes a conversation and agreement with the unseen. The steps are figured out as you go, because they are ordered by God. Faith is not certainty about the destination. It is confidence in the one who is in-charge. The one who makes all things work out for good. Even when it starts off bad, or challenging, it will eventually end in praise.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you do not see the whole staircase.
— Martin Luther King Jr.”
Write down one area of your life where you are waiting for certainty before moving. Faith is what you need, it is your evidence, your substance and your certainty. Take it and run with it.
May God Strengthen your trust where you feel unsure. And where you would normally wait to see before believing, you will have faith. Faith that translate into life changing discoveries, novel products, award winning books, investments and inventions.
Happy Sunday!
And Happy Father’s Day.
Dr Serge