Today I am talking about faith, not religious faith, but faith as in what it means to truly have faith, to move toward something when you have no idea whether it is going to work or how it is going to work.
Today’s post has been inspired by the themes of some conversations I have had with a few friends in recent weeks: faith. These conversations have been around how these different friends and myself are in different stages of our own individual walks in faith. As I’ve been thinking through all this, I keep hearing “faith without works is dead” and “walk by faith, not by sight.” I have also been hearing “expect the best,” and “expect miracles,” as well as getting images of flowing streams of water and flood gates lifting.
So, in the podcast episode I did on this, which was #90 if you want to check it out, I shared some of my own testimony if you will, as I was guided to. I won’t repeat it here, so check out the podcast episode for that, but for this blog post, I am providing some practical things for you to apply to your own walk in faith. These are the keys to walking in faith:
- Connect with Inner Guidance.
- Take Inspired Action.
- Release the Attachment to Outcome.
First, let’s clarify faith in this context. It is not faith as in religion. One definition for faith is belief without evidence. This is exemplified in stories like Noah and the ark and the flood, or even Moses and Exodus, Joseph is another story of faith, there are numerous stories in the Bible that exemplify faith and the various iterations of it.
It can be like in the case of Noah, where Noah knew and trusted what God told him was going to happen, which was that a flood was coming. God also told him, build an ark to be ready. Everyone thought Noah was nuts and dismissed him, but Noah continued to proceed anyway.
Moses is another example, but more where faith in God and faith in self dove tailed. It’s a story about how Moses had to get out of the way, as in he had to get over himself – his doubts and trust God, specifically, God’s faith in him. Moses was full of self-doubt, he was like, ‘really God, me? I can’t lead these people out of Egypt. I’m just Moses.’ And God even got frustrated with him, because his self-doubt, his ego was getting in the way.
The story of Joseph shows us faith in the wake of betrayal and how God will use the terrible things that happen to us for our highest good and the god of others. It shows what happens when we allow ourselves to be led and allow God to work through us. It shows us what happens when you trust and obey (i.e. take inspired action), despite how crazy it seems.
- Connect with inner guidance.
This is one of the most important aspects, because your intuition, that inner voice, the gut feeling is what is going to help guide you along. The thing about walking in faith is that you don’t get the path laid out before you. Instead, it unfolds as you walk, which means you need a real strong connection to God and your inner voice.
Start building this “muscle” through meditation and prayer. If you aren’t already, establish a daily meditation practice. Start small and build from there; five – ten minutes in the morning and gradually add more throughout the day. You will start to receive divine guidance in many different forms (different for everyone). I may be visions, you might hear words/guidance, it may be a sudden knowing, it could be a nudge or idea. - Take inspired action.
As you strengthen your inner connection, you will realize you are being guided. Again,, the way this happens is different for everyone. God will use all sorts of means, such as other people, signs (literal and figurative), music, your guy feeling, etc. The more you connect to God and your inner self, the more adept you will become at recognizing the guidance. As you receive it, act on it and trust it. This is the way the path unfolds and the way opportunities and answers are revealed along the way. - Release the attachment to outcome.
In my experience this is the most challenging part. We humans want to know, we anticipate, we create expectations. The problem with this is that we are then looking for what we expect and this may cause us to miss the blessing, guidance, opportunity, etc. Remain open to all the possibilities, all the infinite ways something can happen or come to you.
Remember, walking by faith, not by sight, is not easy. It requires courage, trust, and a willingness to let go of fear and doubt. But when we align our actions with our beliefs and trust in the wisdom of the universe and God, miracles can happen.
So, that is all I have for today’s post. I hope you found it helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or topics you’d like me to explore in future episodes, don’t hesitate to reach out. Until next time, remember to keep shining your light and walking in faith.