Faith and Uncertainty
Greetings and good morning, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we seek to understand the relationship between faith and uncertainty.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Faith and Uncertainty
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.." Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 24 and 25
Brothers and sisters, in today’’s broadcast we share with you some further insights into faith and uncertainty. We shall explore the relationship between faith and uncertainty in the face of the supreme desire to do the Father’’s will. We shall consider these three values as composing a triangle. At the apex of the triangle the supreme desire to do the Father’’s will; each side represents faith and uncertainty, respectively. We shall see what happens to the soul (the line that joins faith and uncertainty) when this line moves towards the apex, as the efforts of faith and uncertainty shortens the distance between the base and the apex. In other words, what happens to the soul as faith and uncertainty increase? To help us grasp these values we shall present a material analogy.
During the winter months, when it is cold and damp, there is nothing so refreshing and filling as a hot bowl of soup. So let us prepare three pots of soup and see how they taste. First, we gather all of our ingredients. We gather some carrots which we trim down to the size of a morsel. When we begin to eat this soup we want all of the ingredients to fill the spoon without any being left over. Then we gather some tomatoes which we cut up. Next we gather some butter beans, some string beans, some potatoes, some celery; and then some chicken which we also cut up into bite size morsels. Some may add a small amount of sugar to kill the bitterness that is so often accompanied by vegetables, but that is optional. Then we place our vegetables and meat into a pot of water for stewing. As the ingredients cook, we add our seasoning and spices just so, every so often sampling the liquid to ensure that it is just the right flavor. Finally when the soup is ready to be served, we sit down after being out in the cold all day and enjoy it.
Sometimes in the course of our journey through life, the warm and sunny days of certainty and predictability give way to the cold and windy days of uncertainty and doubt. And we need to have a nice bowl of faith soup that will refresh and nourish us. But we need to be careful what kind of soup we prepare. Sometimes we are hit so hard with the winter blast of uncertainty that we temporarily lose our equilibrium, and in our confusion we prepare the soup of despair and try to take solace from eating that. We don’’t mean to prepare this kind of soup but often we do. This soup is prepared by gathering the carrots of anxiety and the tomatoes of depression, since this is often our first reaction when we are hit with the wintery blast of uncertainty. Next we collect the butter beans of despair along with the string beans of distrust and the potatoes of doubt. Then we gather the celery of hopelessness and the chicken of panic. Next we sprinkle in the spices and seasons of hasty decisions and impatience, then we cook all the ingredients in the waters of fear. Some but not all even add the sugar of cowardice. Some leave out the sugar of cowardice because their moral will becomes paralyzed and they lose the ability to act. Their will is seized by the absence of faith. And as they sit down to eat this soup of despair, they find that, rather than warming them up and satisfying them, it leaves them hungry for truth and thirsty for righteousness. It does not satisfy.
But the more thoughtful souls prepare a different kind of soup as they journey through the warm and sunny days of certainty and routine and give way to the cold and windy days of uncertainty and doubt. They prepare the soup of assurance. They gather the carrots of tranquility and the tomatoes of optimism in response to seeking the Father’’s will in the midst of uncertainty. Next they gather the butter beans of confidence along with the string beans of trust and the potatoes of faith. They gather the celery of hope and the chicken of serenity. Next they sprinkle in the spices and seasonings of thoughtful reflection and patience. Then they cook all the ingredients in the waters of love. On this occasion they add the sugar of bravery, which allows them to make fearless decisions when the time is appropriate. Their moral will is liberated by the exercise of faith. And when they eat this soup they are truly invigorated and prepared to face the harshness of the coldness of uncertainty.
And as the interplay of faith and uncertainty increases, the uncertainty serving as a stimulus for faith, and the faith powerizing the soul, the size of the triangle gets smaller and smaller. The arms of faith and uncertainty shorten until they join in oneness with the supreme desire to do the Father’’s will. When this happens, the soul becomes one with the Father and faith gives way to the supreme fact of divine oneness, and uncertainty gives way to the eternal certainty of eternal values and meanings. And though this experience has been extremely difficult on the material self, it has further provided the stimulus for the self to further identify with the soul, that part of the self that knows truth, beauty, and goodness united in divine love. The soul that knows always declares that nothing of spiritual value is lost. And when the self finally and forever identifies with its soul and its divine spirit, it is ushered into the matchless life of eternal existence, whereby the shadows of times and the barriers of space give way to the eternal truth and beauty of goodness, where love is all that it sees.
This concludes today's message on understanding the relationship between faith and uncertainty. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
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Your Kingdom Come; Thy Will Be Done!
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By Dr. James Perry
Faith and Uncertainty
