Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. ~ Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen. What a beautiful description!
Abraham is known as much for his faith as he is for his descendants, and this definition of faith fits him well. He did not live to see his multitude of descendants. He had only the trust in the promise that God gave him.
Trust. That is also as good a definition of faith as you'll find.
The trust of falling into the unknown and unseen.
The trust of falling into the arms of the powerful and mighty. And scary.
Because, let's face it. God can be scary. To give your life over to someone unseen, someone with the power of life over death isn't a simple proposition.
It takes faith.
Faith that despite what our eyes sometimes show us, and what our ears sometimes tell us, that there is more than we can comprehend.
Any more than we can comprehend the amount of grains of sand on the earth and stars in the sky (which, by the way, scientists estimate to be 2,300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 and 7,500,000,000,000,000,000...ya, know...just in case you were wondering)!
And yet despite not being able to comprehend, we can trust. And we can hope, and we can dream.
Holy Mystery, help me to put my trust in you even when things don't make sense to me. Amen