Life in Faith

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.-Heb 11:1

2026 has begun on an uneasy note. The past year went full speed ahead fuelled by the seemingly limitless possibilities of AI. There was a sense of infallibility and power that promised much—but has suddenly lost its drift. The New Year resounds with the noise of warring nations, communal violence, terror strikes and open exploitation at every level. Where do we go from here?

One short phrase, namely Faith in God , answers this question for all time. The Scripture remains a steady anchor in our directionless world. God the Father has mapped out the course of His creation from its inception to its end, and nothing has deviated from what He has spoken through His prophets and saints till date. While many of us have toyed with the notion of faith, especially when life pushes us into uncomfortable corners, very few have really grasped its full import. The Bible tells us that true faith has the power to move mountains. St Paul explains it further—

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him-Heb11:6

We understand then, that faith is not a short-term connection we make with God for a favour we need in life. It forms the bedrock of our relationship with our Creator. It is an uninterrupted, ongoing spiritual union that transcends the horizon of human experience. While it is difficult to explain this in a few short paragraphs, my attempt would be to recount my own understanding of faith, in order that it may add to the experience of those reading this. The first part deals with the main constituents of faith and the single necessary condition for true faith to take root and grow. The second part discusses the refining process that our faith undergoes before it reaches its full maturity.

To begin with, faith cannot survive without belief in God, and while most of us claim to be believers, we need to delve a little deeper to find out whether there is a relative element to our claim. The Nicene Creed is a comprehensive statement of belief , and all the basic tenets of our spiritual allegiance are listed there. Even as we acknowledge and proclaim that we believe, doubts exist at many levels. Can there be three persons in one God? Do we really receive the Body and Blood of Christ during Holy Mass or is the host just a symbolic representation of what happened during the Last Supper? In fact, when Biblical truths come up against human logic, the temporal often holds sway, and we drift into a state of comfortable compromise. A compromised belief is simply not acceptable in God’s sight! Our faith will not survive without a conviction that the Word of God is the ultimate and final truth.

While our belief lends stability to our faith, trust and hope are two elements that make it a dynamic exchange between God and Man. God’s love for us is the theme of the entire Old and New Testament put together. Do we trust in that love as children of a loving Father? If we do, we can never lose hope in God. Whichever direction life takes us, this trust keeps us strong and steady, and even as we hope in God for immediate solutions to our problems, we trust Him enough to be open to accepting His plan for us, even if it does not conform to what we desired. Belief, trust and hope come together to create a beautiful faith relationship with God. The strength and weakness of this relationship is directly dependent on the waxing and waning of these three elements.

Ironically enough, none of these elements are essentially required for a faith relationship to take root. Even those who have led sinful lives are welcome to turn back to God anytime. David’s psalm shows us how gently God deals with those who seek Him

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them- Psalm 32:2

Perhaps the most striking example of this is at Calvary, when Jesus hangs on the Cross between the two thieves. After a lifetime of crime and depravity the thieves are ready to receive a well-deserved punishment. One of them scoffs at Jesus, totally insensitive to His undeserved suffering on the Cross. But the other thief was experiencing something he had never known before. He saw Jesus dying for a crime He never committed, and a great remorse and repentance overtook him. In those final moments, as he looked to Christ for salvation , a prayer formed on his lips  –“Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”-Luke 23:42. Christ's response was instantaneous—“I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” A faith relationship only needs a sincere heart that seeks the Lord.

This, however, is only the beginning of what is meant to be a lifelong journey. The Gospels give us so many instances of instant healings and deliverance. Very often, Jesus commended the faith of those who approached Him with complete trust. The Centurion who requested Jesus to heal his servant, the Canaanite woman who stood her ground in utmost humility are just a few examples of healing and deliverance through faith. Each one of us will have incidents that recall instant answers to prayers. Many doctors are willing witnesses to faith healings which happen regularly in their workplace, when terminally ill patients recover miraculously, defying medical reports to the contrary. This, then is the first stage of faith formation, and it is fulfilling and beautiful, and evokes in us a desire to know this powerful and loving Father more closely. Unfortunately, the search is seldom sustained as one gets busy with the demands of everyday life.

 Once faith has taken root, it often tends to grow in harsh landscapes.  Critical situations in life lead us through long dark corridors, and we often fail to see light at the end of it.  Even our most fervent prayers seem to go unanswered as we struggle along. These periods of relentless suffering are a battle ground where God’s grace abounds but is countered by evil forces that take advantage of man’s vulnerability to lead him away from God.  The Book of Job is an example of this kind of an encounter. Most of us who know the story of Job believe that Satan’s role was to strip Job of all his blessings and reduce him to a state of poverty and disease. In fact, those were only the weapons he used. His real work began after that. Satan surrounded Job with relatives and well-wishers who actually distanced him from God’s grace with their misguided advice. Though Job never blamed or cursed God, he failed to take his suffering to God, asking for His grace and strength. Instead he fell into Satan’s trap and sank into a deep depression, cursing his state of being , filled with self-loathing, and hiding within his own suffering self. Only when God helped him to understand that his attitude was unholy, did he submit himself to God in humility and total faith. In return all his fortunes were restored double-fold.

When we face prolonged periods of suffering, we become spiritually vulnerable to evil thoughts and practices.  Belief, trust and hope can easily begin to wane. The euphoria that accompanied the first stage of faith formation ebbs away with each passing day of undiminished sorrow. When this happens, we have only to call on the Lord’s name and we will immediately experience the power of His Spirit within us. Even if our circumstances don’t change immediately, we become strong enough to place our trust in Him till He blesses us with answered prayers. When this happens, we can rest assured that our faith has not only taken root but has grown in strength and stature.

From this point onwards, there is no looking back as we experience the grace and presence of God filling our lives. St Paul speaks of a beautiful encounter with God that shows us what faith finally evolves into. He pleaded to God to relieve him from a long-standing affliction– not once but three times. The Lord answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The gift of God’s grace surpasses any human experience. The difficulties and sufferings of this world pale against the splendour and strength of His mercy. Faith reaches its full maturity even as we continue to surrender our lives and cares to God. Finally, God’s grace surpasses all, and the words of St Paul truly echo our own sentiments—Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness , so that Christ’s power may rest on me-2 Cor 12:9

Faith leads us through a path that often begins with showers of blessings and answered prayers, and we begin to feel God’s presence in our lives. But often, our memory of God’s goodness is short-lived. We begin to face situations that leave us weak and weary.  Satan chooses these difficult moments to wean us away from God. Jesus went through a similar experience after spending 40 days in the desert. He faced Satan , hungry , weak and vulnerable, but the Holy Spirit was with Him and Satan was banished from His presence. Once we discover that the power of the Most High God is with us, we realize that our faith has come to stay, and the experience of God’s grace is beyond anything that the world can give us or take away from us.