Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: Consistent Faith is the key to happiness

Why You Should Believe in a Good Future

Image: Fresco by Fra Angelico. Source: wikipedia.

When you think about your future, do you see things working out in your favour? Do you see yourself happy, successful and your dreams being fulfilled? Or do you automatically expect that life will be tough, you will struggle, and maybe - just maybe - if you are lucky you might have something good happen to you?
If you are the second type (or maybe you're just curious), read on to see why I believe you should always expect a good future.

The Christian Teaching

  
I was visiting Cleveland, Ohio last month, and attended the Easter service at the Church of the Saviour. The sermon was given by Dr. Charles D. Yoost. Even though he has a fearful preaching style, I was able to get something very positive out of his sermon.

He was saying that, in Easter morning the 2 Marys decided go to the tomb (where Jesus had been taken after his death on the cross) to perform some customary rituals on His dead body. And as they walked, they wondered "who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" But when they got there, they found that the stone had already been rolled out (Mark 16:1-4). Dr. Yoost used that passage to demonstrate the principle that God is always one step ahead of us.

He said: if you lost someone you love, God has already placed loving friends amongst you to comfort you. If you lost your job, God has already prepared something better for you and you will find it soon.

I believe Dr. Yoost's point was that you must trust God because He has already found a solution to your problems, He has already prepared your healing, He has already provided the comfort you need, etc.

That reminded me of Andrew Wommack's teaching about "A Place Called 'There'". Andrew talks about 1 Kings 17:2-4, where God tells Elijah to go to the Cherith brook, because He has commanded some ravens to bring food to Elijah over there. Andrew emphasizes that God had commanded the ravens to bring food there (at the brook), not here (where Elijah was at the moment). The point Andrew makes is that if we would just trust God and obey His direction (ie, follow our Intuition) there will be good things waiting for us in the future.

I would go one step further and also look at the verb tense in that passage (verse 4): God says "I have commanded the ravens to feed you there". He didn't say "go there and then I will command the ravens". That means God had already orchestrated the provision of food in Elija's future. 
Therefore, I interpret that passage as saying: trust in God, because He has already prepared something good for you in the future.

Andrew mentions another passage (1 Kings 17:8-9), where God again tells Elijah to go to a specific place, because there will be something good waiting for him there: “And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee”. Once again, notice the verb tense: I have commanded. God had already commanded the woman to help Elijah. The provision was already there.

Back to the passage mentioned in Dr Yoost's sermon, I see it in a similar light: God commanded the 2 Marys (via the Holy Spirit/Intuition) to go take care of Jesus' body. And before they even got there, He had already used an earthquake and an Angel (Matthew 28:2) to open the tomb. I interpret that as another example of God having already prepared something good in our future.

I'm going to guess that there are at least a few other passages in the Bible that also have a similar message (I don't know the Bible well enough yet to make a firmer, more detailed statement).

What is that teaching telling us?

In non-Christian words, that teaching is saying that we should trust that the future will be good, and it will be.

We see that principle being taught by believers of The Secret/Law of Attraction as well. They advise you to believe and expect that your desires will come true, because whatever you expect is what becomes true.

I am willing to bet that many other religions and spiritual belief systems also teach the same principle: trust that your future will be good, and it will be. 

Why is that teaching important? 

I see 2 reasons:  
1) It gives you peace.
2) You get into a virtuous cycle of positive thinking.

Getting some Peace
If you trust that the future will be good, you will consequently let go of your fears and worries, which will bring you inner peace. When you have inner peace, you are able to cope better with whatever comes your way (whether it is actually good or not).

The Virtuous Cycle of Positive Thinking

When you have inner peace, it's easier to get into a positive mindset and consequently to keep on trusting that the future will be good.

Once you break the inertia of fear/negativity/not expecting a good future, it becomes a virtuous cycle: you trust that your future will be good; that gives you inner peace; your inner peace helps you stay positive and keep trusting that the future will be good.

Of course that trust requires constant feeding/practice, but in my experience, the more you do it, the easier it gets (that's what psychology calls Learned Optimism).

Recommendation

It might be hard for you to believe in this principle just for the sake of believing (even when it is backed up by Scripture or pseudoscience). I think that's why so many people shy away from religion nowadays.

But it makes sense to believe in that principle, from the standpoint of mental health: your emotional life will be better if you believe in it. You will be happier if you believe in a good future. 

Therefore, I recommend following that principle, not because "it's what the Bible says", but because it is a healthy frame of mind to be in.

Thought of the day

Thought of the day: the more you focus on finding your Inner Peace, the less your circumstances will impact you

Why wouldn't you trust Him?

If you can trust a person with your finances, career, etc (for example: financial advisor, career coach, etc) then why wouldn't you trust God?
He is so much more powerful than any person! He knows what is happening in your life better than anyone else. He knows what you need better than anyone else. He is capable of doing things that no one else can (think about miracles, coincidences, and other inexplicable things).
You can trust him.

Quote of the day

Quote of the day: God is not limited, unless you limit Him. - Andrew Wommack

Lesson of the day

What would happen if, instead of always (or even just sometimes) being afraid of what the future holds, thinking of it as uncertain and with a possible negative outcome, you always expected something good to happen?
What would happen if you always, 100% of the times, expected that the future would be good?
What if you expected that so much that it became a knowledge and not an expectation?
Can you imagine how wonderful, how much better your life would be?

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: Hold on to the parts of you that do believe in divine healing, and healing will happen.

Living in Trust

Image: openclipart

Today I want to talk about a revelation I had a while ago: live in trust, in all aspects of your life.


Before I talk about living in trust, however, I want to talk about 2 ways we don't live in trust.


Trust vs. Control


The first one is to live trying to control your fate.

For the past 4 years I had been living trying desperately to control my fate:

• trying to control my professional fate by looking desperately for a job - sending 100s of resumes to all the job postings I could find
• trying to control my financial fate by accepting a low-paying job - because I was desperate for any income.
• continuing to try to control my financial fate by working tirelessly on side projects - hoping they would become more profitable than my current low-paying job.
• trying to control the fate of a relationship by trying to get a person close to me at any cost - I even tried bribing them by promising to pay for their tuition if they came to study where I live.
• continuing to try to control my financial fate by looking desperately for cheaper places to live - looking at real estate listings every single day, calculating how much I would pay for taxes, transportation, etc.

When you live in control, you are not living in trust. You don't trust that that your future will be positive unless you take control.

Trust vs. Fear

The second way that we don't live in trust is when we live in fear.
Fear is related to control.
I see fear as an attempt to control the future.

A few months ago, I used to live in fear:

• fear that the person who had drifted away from me would never come back - so I kept trying to control them and bring them back.
• fear that I would not be worthy of love (from myself and others) if I didn't keep my house sparkling clean 100% of the time - so I spent all my free time cleaning and doing other house chores.
• fear of getting some deadly disease - so I would freak out at any strange symptom I would have and run to the doctor.

Getting out of the pit

The stress from all that fear and need to control snowballed into anxiety and panic attacks. I brought myself out of that horrible emotional state with a lot of hard work - and no medication.

One of the main pillars of my healing was focusing on myself. Instead of trying to control my exterior circumstances, I shifted my attention to understanding what was happening in my mind.

After I understood the fears behind my need to control, I then worked on changing my negative thoughts and behaviours.

That boosted my self-esteem, and I had more consistent faith. I felt confident that whatever happened in my life, I would be ok. I would survive.

And that's when everything started changing:

• When I stopped trying to get a person to love me (and instead focused on loving myself) they started showing me love. 
• When I stopped trying to get love from performing chores (and loved myself for who I am regardless of performance) I suddenly had free time to enjoy life.
• When I stopped running to the doctor to get a sense of security (and kept challenging my catastrophic thinking), I felt as healthy as a horse.

Living in Trust

Then, a while ago, I realised the connection between all the changes listed above: I was living in trust. And when, I did that, I finally got what I wanted. I didn't get it by trying to control my circumstances, but rather by trusting [God] that things would work out in my favour. I focused on love, inner peace and personal growth, and the rest took care of itself [or, God took care of the rest].

Following that, I had a revelation: I should trust God in every aspect of my life. Instead of trying to control my circumstances and trusting that my efforts will bring me what I want, it's better to live in Love and trust that God will bring me what I want.

• If I want a better job, I should meet people in my network and talk to them about what I want. Then trust that God will use the people in my life to bring me a better job.
• If I want to improve my financial situation, I should talk to people about what I would like my life to be like. Then let God work through them to give me suggestions or even put me in touch with someone who wants to help me financially. 
• If I want to get someone close to me, I should focus on defining what kind of relationship I want. Then trust that God will put the right person (possibly not the one I originally asked for) in my life.
• If I want to give myself love, I should do what makes me happy. Then trust that I will be in such a good mood that chores won't feel as stressful or time consuming.
• If I want to believe that I'm healthy, I should focus on all the times the doctor said I was fine. Then trust that I am really ok.

The key is focusing on love and peace, and trusting that God/the Universe will work things out in your favour. When you live in fear of losing something, it is much harder to get what you want. When you live in peace and trust that things will work out, they usually do.

So next time you are afraid, just focus on love and inner peace, and trust that things will work out.

Do you have faith like a mustard seed?

Image: wikipedia

You might have heard the expression "we should have faith like a mustard seed". I have heard it a few times after I started listening to Christian ministers. I had never heard it before then.

For those interested, it seems to be in 2 places in the Bible:

1. Luke 17:6 : "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you"
2. Matthew 17:20: "(...) if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

But what does that mean? Like me, there are probably many people who have asked/prayed for something and believed in it, but not received. Why? The Bible seems to say that only a small amount is enough.

Today I will share 2 different interpretations of what that means, and why we don't see the results we ask for.

Interpretation #1 - The Problem is the Unbelief

According to Andrew Wommack's teaching, having faith the size of a mustard seed means that even if you have a little faith, that is enough.
Additionally, he says that everybody has the same amount of faith. According to Andrew's teaching, when God made us, he put the same amount of faith in everyone. We all have faith the size of a mustard seed.
The reason why some people see more results (ie, what they ask for comes true), is because they have less unbelief.
According to Andrew, as you grow in the Lord, you remove your unbelief, and your wishes will more easily come true.

Interpretation #2 - Quality and not Quantity

Watch this video from 11:27 to 17:38.

What a beautifully emotional and passionate segment!
In it, Joe Amaral explains that it is not the quantity of your faith that matters (ie, is it big or as small as a mustard seed), but rather the quality (are you as strong and tenacious as the mustard plant?).
Besides explaining, he also does a wonderful job of motivating the audience to be strong. If you need faith and encouragement, do watch that segment!

Criticism

I understand Andrew's point, but at the same time, I see unbelief as lack of faith. In my opinion, he is still saying that the issue is the lack of faith. What he calls faith is the constant faith (as in "he is a man of faith") and what he calls unbelief is a temporary lack of faith (maybe due to stress, fear, etc).

For Joe Amaral, my criticism is regarding the requirement of understanding the culture in order to understand the passage.I believe it is important to understand the culture of Jeseus, but that alone doesn't help us fully understand what the Bible meant. One of the reasons why Christianity has so many denominations is because there can be many different interpretations to the same passage of the Bible - even after understanding Jesus' culture.

Some more food for thought:

1. Do we ever fully understand a culture? Even when we were brought up in a certain culture, we sometimes only fully understand it once we travel and spend time in another one. Then what about a culture that is 2000 years and many continents removed from us?
2. We will never clearly know what Jesus meant because He is not here to explain it to us. The Bible was written by the apostles (if I'm not mistaken) many years after Jesus gave the lessons. It was also written in one language, then translated into a few different languages before it was translated to English. A lot can be lost through time and translation, including cultural nuances.

Conclusion

I believe both interpretations are in fact complimentary. Having lack of unbelief (Andrew's interpretation) means being strong in your faith (Joe's interpretation). In other words, it means striving towards consistent faith.

My message is the following: be as persistent and as strong as a mustard plant, by working on building a consistent faith inside of you.

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: it might take time, but God does give you what you want - sometimes He even gives you more than what you asked for.

Lessons of the day

Lessons of the day:
1) Trust your intuition. It is worth it.
2) Don't worry about the 'how', just accept that God works through mysterious ways, and trust the He will bring you what you asked for.

The Traveling Franciscan Monk

This is a true story experienced by a friend of mine. Some names and details have been changed to preserve people's privacy and/or because I don't remember them very precisely.

The Story

John lived in a farm with his parents in the countryside of Ontario, Canada. One day, a Franciscan Monk came to their door asking for food and a place to stay for one night.

His parents were kind people, so they said "of course". They gave him a nice dinner and a bed to sleep on.

The monk told them that he had been travelling throughout the country, on his way to China.

Fransican monks take a vow of poverty. So they are not allowed to accumulate money.

He depended on the kindness of strangers to have a place to sleep and food to eat.

He told John's family that in every day of his trip he had always had a place to sleep and food to eat.

The Lessons

After telling me that story, John commented that the world is a much kinder place than we imagine.

For me, there is an even deeper lesson to be learned from the traveling monk: he trusted God so much that he was willing to travel without any food, money or accommodation arrangements.

The monk had a blind faith in God that few of us do. He believed without a doubt that God would provide him with food and shelter wherever he went.

Reflections

Would you be able to do the same?

Are you capable of surrendering that much control of your life to God?

Notice how his faith had worked and he had always had food and shelter.

It takes a lot of courage to give up that much control of your life to God. But if the monk can do it, so can you.

Disclaimer: This post should not be taken as an instruction to anyone to throw away all they've got and go traveling like a beggar. If you decide to do that it is by your own choice. You have free will and are responsible for yourself. By reading this article you agree that you will not sue me if you decide to do that and then run into problems.

Conclusion

The message I want to convey with this post is that we should stop trying to control our fate so much. Instead, give the control to God and have faith that everything will work out.

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: when you stop waiting, things start happening.
Focus on something else and what you were waiting for will happen.

Circumstancial vs Consistent Faith

About 4 years ago, I was going through a very tough time emotionally and stumbled across this teaching:

First, I need to clarify one of terms I will use in this article. The speaker in the video uses the term biblical faith. I prefer using consistent faith because its not attached to any religion. Therefore, even people who are not religious can still understand what I want to say - and hopefully create a better life for themselves after reading this article.

Ok, now we can start.

Types of Faith

Basically, there are 2 types of faith: circumstantial faith and consistent faith.

Circumstantial Faith: you have more or less hope based on your circumstances.

In other words, if your life is going great and you don't have any major problems, it's easy for you to hope for the best, and to have faith that your future will be great. You are very confident in your ability to overcome any problems in the present and the future.

On the other hand, if you are going through challenges (loss of job, end of relationship, etc) you have less faith or hope that things will work out. You don't see how things can get better. You feel hopeless and lost. You don't believe in your ability to overcome problems.

Consistent Faith: you have the same amount of faith, regardless of what is happening in your life right now. You trust that things will work out, regardless of how hard things seem at the moment. If you are going through life challenges, you believe that somehow, in some way, things will work out in the end. It's not to say that you won't feel afraid, but you feel confident that things will end up ok.

Self-Esteem and Faith

Most people who have a low self-esteem, operate in circumstantial faith. If life is good, they believe in themselves and believe that they can overcome their problems. But if a problem arises, they lose confidence in themselves. If they are criticized or put down, they immediately loose their confidence. The moment they feel unloved by one person, their whole world comes crumbling down.

People who have high self esteem, are not so easily affected by their circumstances. Independently of what happens to them, they remain in a consistently positive emotional state. If they just ended a relationship, sure they do feel sad. But they know that they still have other people in their lives who love them. They keep things in perspective. Their world doesn't fall apart. (It took me many years and many break-ups to get to that point!)

What is the difference? The person with high self-esteem does not let their circumstances dictate their self-confidence and hope. Sure they also feel sad and discouraged, but they believe that everything will turn out ok in the end. The stronger a person's self-esteem, the better they are remaining hopeful in times of trouble.

Strength through Religion

I have met people who have consistent faith. They were also very religious. I was attracted to them for their kindness, and had opportunities to witness their hopefulness. Even though they were going through major problems in their lives, they had a smile on their face. They had no doubts that things would end up working out ok.

For example, I once met a baptist  lady who had just been diagnosed with skin cancer. However, she continued to enjoy life, laugh and encourage her friends (me being one of them). She faced the diagnosis with courage and faith that everything would be fine. Her faith was blind, she never even questioned (at least not on conversations with me) whether things would turn out ok in the end. She just knew that they would.

I always admired people like. I admired them for their courage, and always wished I could be the same way. When I found the teaching above, it helped me understand the difference between myself and them:  I had a very low-self esteem and operated in circumstantial faith.

Throughout my life, I have strengthened my self-esteem with self-analysis, journaling, reading about psychology, etc. When I found that video, it gave me a hint that maybe there was another way to do that. I could have improve my self-esteem through religion.

Therefore, I'm sharing this because it might help someone who is looking for more faith and more hope.

Conclusion

The point is: try to have more consistent faith instead of circumstantial faith.

I'm not saying it's easy. But if you can understand the difference, and start trying to switch from circumstantial faith to consistent fath, then you have already taken a huge step.

You might also find Part 3 of that lesson to be helpful.

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: when you are clear on what you want, and you believe you can get it, you will not be afraid to ask for it.