Faith: Trust and Courage

Some days God seems to open my heart to new insights, showing me, perhaps, hope for the journey. Other days, he seems to remind me of the past, kind of like: “You think things are bad now? Let me remind you how bad they’ve been – and I was there for you then! And I will be here for you now.”

The words of today’s daily readings seemed to start with of the latter.


Put to death whatever in your nature is rooted in earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desires, and that lust which is idolatry. These are the sins which provoke God’s wrath. Your own conduct was once of this sort, when these sins were your very life.
You must put that aside now: all the anger and quick temper, the malice, the insults, the foul language. Stop lying to one another. What you have done is put aside your old self with its past deeds and put on a new man, one who grows in knowledge as he is formed anew in the image of his Creator.
Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.
Col 3:1-17


When Jesus reproved the disciples for their “lack of faith”, he meant their lack of trust and courage. It started with Abraham; God challenged his trust. The beginning of faith is pure trust. God said to him “Go out of your father’s house into a land which I shall point out to you.” And later, God promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the sands on the seashore, but asked him to sacrifice his only son – and he was prepared to! That’s trust. That’s faith.

Trust takes courage. A friend gives you a present, and you say thank you even before you open it. “God has a way of putting time bombs into pretty packages. We know that from past experience.” Yet we say thanks for God’s gifts, even if “it might blow me to pieces. But even if it does, I trust that this is just what I need right now.” That’s trust all right. Growth in faith does not mean accumulation of beliefs. It means, rather, learning to make the basic gesture of faith in more and more difficult circumstances.
from Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer, by Br David Steindl-Rast