Faith

When things are not going all that well, I wonder how long will those moments last? When can I experience relief? And when things are going exceptionally well, I wonder how long can I hold onto those moments? How long will those moments last? There’s something wrong with both of those scenarios.

Imagine there is a problem that is affecting you, and you don’t know yet how to pass through it. This breeds worry. Worry is uncertainty, and it feels bad.

Now imagine, the solution to the problem has been found, and steps have been taken which move toward it. This encourages belief, which says, “I see the end result of the steps I have taken in order to achieve resolution and I believe these things will take place to achieve the desired end.” In the moments of belief a certain confidence calms the anxiety and uncertainty previously inspired by the problem.

Once the solution is found and successfully implemented, this inspires peace, but there is still a trauma associated with the manifestation of the original problem. Like a scar it serves as a reminder that difficult moments had come, surprising moments, challenging moments, and this can be intimidating and frightening because it means that moments like them are apt to happen at any time. This reminder also shows that somehow you survived.

Now imagine living every moment of every day with the kind of confidence and trust that says no matter the solution, it is enough. This is faith, and faith is bigger than belief, and is not a delusion of control. Faith is not defined by the end result of a previous circumstance. Faith does not even assure victory over a challenge. Faith breeds contentment, to be able to say, “In all things I have learned to be content: in little and in much, hungry and full, having need and having plenty.”

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The hurricane of the mind

Solipsism, in philosophy, is an extreme form of subjective idealism that demands that the human mind has no valid ground for believing in the existence of anything but itself.

Therefore every moment is specific to that mind, and no other mind, regardless of proximity, will experience said moment in the same way.

Leaks in surrounding existence present selective and tailored ideas in various trickles, revealing channels of pathways toward the goals I've been seeking.

Yet my progress is stymied. I know that effort is reward and I know that effort becomes results, but complacency keeps me rooted in inaction. I know WHAT to do but I don't DO.

I am guilty. I am aware of my guilt. I condemn myself tenfold above external condemnation. This is still not enough to provoke me into action. And I am intimidated by the circumstances which would prompt progress, because I mentally create negative attributes that could potentially present during these circumstances. Even when I am confident the positive attributes would be just as abundant, even unto success.

Truth

Of course I'll go with you because I know it's something you really want to do but because I won't enjoy it I'll make sure you don't enjoy it either that way you'll never want to do it again

The goal

I only gripe and complain because I haven't yet learned to overcome the difficulties and discomforts in life. Phil 4:11 is the goal and the introduction to the solution.

Another not a bible verse

A patient man will lean in and consider, with a desire to understand, while the haughty will scoff and turn his head.

obvious-ism

I consume my day at the expense of my day. To try and hold onto my day is grasping at the wind. I can't have my day and live it, too.

Sin is so sticky

That is how I see the scenario involving a man who seemingly has achieved abundance, reaching heights far above and rare for any member of humanity ever (see Ecclesiastes), and then they say something about being miserable. The more self-involved a person gets, the further away from God he feels. When the man begins to notice the separation from the Father, from the one who can be professed as Savior, he begins to feel the absence of peace, and he is reminded that he is human, and mortal, and something pulls at him in that lack of abiding, and he begins assessing the abyss, and assessing the distance between God and himself.

Does this distance provoke the man to give up their previously mentioned earthly pursuits?

The sin is so sticky. Like flypaper. It operates with an enhanced strength. Like a glue trap we can be stuck to our sin, to our greed and selfishness, to our achievement and ambition, to our entertainment and frivolity, to whatever we are doing which is not for the glory of God -because how could it be?-, when it is clearly for the glory of SELF. For everything we do should be done for the glory of God (1 corinthians 10:31). Where is the glory in all that oneness? Where is the glory in all that self sufficiency that disregards the existence of time and chance? Did man wake himself up one day and say, "I am conscious."? Did man put himself to sleep by anything other than biological function?

From what I can tell, Jesus Christ is held at "arms length" to be simply said, and true peace remains absent. Because the closer we get to worldly peace, the less we acknowledge God and the substance of His provision. We are closest to Him when we fully rely on His presence, and are fully aware of His gifts. Every step, every movement, every breath.

Therefore the richest, most successful man in the world can remain miserable, because the sin is so sticky. Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything he owned and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:21-24), but it was so sticky. And he walked away, miserable.