Dolly Parton is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. She wisely said,
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”
And the winds are so wild right now in the world, correct? War, hate, fear, suffering, sorrow, financial hardship, not to mention the weird shortages that seem so random due to supply chain issues. It’s anyone’s guess whether the things we want are at the store when we go. Some of the most basic things we use at the hospital are on back order!
It seems we may not always get what we want. So far, thankfully, we have all we need in any given moment.
What is the answer? How do we face war, hate, fear, suffering, sorrow, financial hardship, and lack? For me the answer is simple, yet complex – faith.
Faith has several meanings as defined by Merriam Webster (online): allegiance to duty or a person: LOYALTY, fidelity to one's promises, sincerity of intentions, belief and trust in and loyalty to God, belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion, firm belief in something for which there is no proof, and complete trust.
The Hebrew Scriptures also take a stab at defining faith, Hebrews 11:1 states;
" Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
I find it interesting that several of these definitions do not mention the word God, so does that mean faith is accessible to everyone, even the non-religious?
I think so, I think we all have a capacity for faith.
So does Rev. Robert Brummet. He writes, “Faith is intrinsic within the mind of every human being. It operates within each of us. We are often admonished to “have faith,” but actually we cannot not have faith! Faith is fundamental to our nature. To have faith usually means to focus our faith in a particular direction. Yet faith is always operating in our consciousness, no matter how doubtful or fearful we may feel.”
I cannot possibly elaborate deeply into the nature of faith in a short chapel service, my point being today is that religious or not, faith can be a spiritual response to hate and other hardships, regardless of any belief system. No one religion has a corner on the market for faith.
This idea of faith is a kind of possibility thinking that acknowledges what is seen and what is unseen. We can have faith and be authentic in our summation of our circumstances. We can also face those circumstance courageously and with a vision of a better world because of faith.
Best of all, it does not take large portions of faith to benefit from it. Jesus in quoted in scripture, Matthew 17:20, as saying,
“Truly I tell you, 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.”
“Keep the faith!” is an idiom you may be familiar with. It became popular in the 1960’s when the whole world seemed to be responding to inequality and hate. American civil rights activists adopted the mantra as their own, quoting the apostle Paul nearing the end of his life when he proclaimed,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7.
Paul endured much hardship in his ministry, including time in jail, physical attacks, and pushback from all sorts of people, including his own followers at times. Yet he never stopped, writing letters when jailed, and whatever else it took to keep spreading the teachings of the early Jesus movement in the face of adversity.
In response to the winds of hate, extremism, inequality, and lack, let us adjust our sails friends, as Dolly Pardon so wisely advises us.
We possess faith naturally, so we always can adjust those sails in the direction of faith.
I thank you for listening, be blessed this day.
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