If we were to turn Faith into an acronym, we might do so with Freedom, Agency, Integrity, Truth, and Humility. In order to exercise faith, we have to have the freedom to choose to be faithful. If we are compelled either by the domination of our will or irrefutable proof, it is impossible for us to exercise any faith. We must be free to choose whether we will give up the distractions that surround us and ignore our doubts and fears as we walk boldly into the unknown. With that freedom comes our Agency. We have to take responsibility for our own journey of Faith. If we wait around for others to choose for us what we must do, then we are not acting in faith but I'm fear of the consequences of disobeying or disappointing those who are pushing us forward. Faith requires effort and commitment and is often accompanied by failure and disappointment. We need to cling to our agency as we navigate these rough waters and whether the tragedies and catastrophes that befall us are our fault or not, we must nevertheless take responsibility for pressing on and enduring the adversities and afflictions that we face. If we are to truly have faith, we must also have integrity. The devil and all his hail and his mighty winds will try to shake us apart each time we go forth with faith. When times get tough, we will be tempted to compromise our singular focus and our fixed and united determination to that next right step. We will want to quit or take the shortcut or trade away future sustainability for short term gains. We have to be all in if our faith is going to be effective. If we will not let go of our doubts and fears, then we will stumble and fall and rob ourselves of the strength we need to carry on in our faith. We can't mix the oil for our lamps with impure substances and have a hope that the lamps will provide light. Which brings us to Truth. We have the capacity to believe and put our faith in just about anything, but placing our faith in anything but the Truth will lead to disappointment. Only Truth can withstand the heat and the rigors of our trials and tribulations. We may not fully understand or comprehend Truth in its entirety, but as long as we base our faith on Truth, we will find ourselves going in the right direction. Truth will illuminate the lessons we must learn on our darkest days, and it will fix in our minds and in our hearts the sweetness and beauty of the joy that we feel on our best days. Last of all, we must have humility if we are to have faith. Faith requires us to say and to do things that seem foolish to ourselves and to others. Faith requires us to do that which everyone else has already determined is impossible. Faith requires us to be led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand what we should do. This is why humility is so important. Humility is recognizing that we are almost completely blind in a world that is almost totally dark and that we know and understand almost nothing about anything. But therein lies the adventure. As we accept humbly the challenge to learn and discover as much as we can about ourselves and the world around us, we will find a newfound sense of freedom, we will cherish our agency, hold fast to our integrity, and seek always after more and more truth, which will invite us to descend deeper and deeper into the depths of humility. This is the journey of Faith.
