True Faith

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This is a hub about faith, true faith and what it really is. This is inspired by the comment made by RichardSpeaks in my other hub about Why Do Unbelievers Always Want Proof? when he talks about faith.

That comment brought me to an experience that I had about 25 years ago when I was in the army.

It was a Sunday night and I had just finished giving tuition to 2 siblings. I got paid that night, all of $180. I made my way back to camp, to a small room on the third floor of Bravo Company that I was lucky to have all to myself. I was a little tired so I just went to sleep.

When I woke up the next day, I had overslept. I hurriedly put on my uniform and rushed to the office, remembering not to lock the door as renovations were being carried out throughout the building.

When I arrived at the office, one minute's walk away, I remembered my precious $180. For the life of me, I can't remember what I did with it. It wasn't on my person so it must be somewhere in my room. I decided to go back during tea break at 10am to check.

At tea break, I went back and searched through my cupboard, and through the stuff on my table, and even on the bed. It was nowhere to be found. I realized that somebody must have come into the room and taken the money.

I got real angry, more at myself for being so careless than at whoever had taken it. But in the midst of the anger, I had a few minutes of an experience that can be the equivalent of true faith.

Bear with me here. I am not talking about a religious experience. I am talking about faith and an unshakable belief in something, even though you have no evidence, or the evidence may be pointing the other way. It is about really knowing something.

You have heard about premonitions of plane crashes right? This perfectly normal guy has a premonition that the plane is about to crash and he does everything in his power to inform the authorities and stop the plane from taking off. He "knows" the plane will crash. Ho doesn't know how, he doesn't when, and he doesn't know where. And he definitely does not know how he knows. And he knows how preposterous it is to claim this knowledge, but still, despite all that, he knows the plane will crash.

In that few minutes, in that small room in Bravo Company, I had that same type of premonition. I was certain, actually, I knew that the money lost would be returned. I didn't know who took it, or how it was lost, and I didn't know how I can be so sure that the money would be returned. But I knew I would get it back and I was even speculating about how it will be returned.

That feeling was difficult to describe in words. You could have questioned me and I would have no answer as to how I knew, but still, I knew. You could have told me how impossible and unreasonable it was that I could know it, and I would have agreed with you, but still, I knew. It was something that was unshakeable.

After the few minutes, the feeling was gone and I went back to my normal routine, expecting never to get the money back.

The money was returned one week later. Apparently, an NCO from another room across the corridor had come into my room to check on the renovations and found the money on the floor.

This is not about the fact that I was right about getting the money back. This is about that few minutes when, as I realize now, I felt and knew the substance and meaning of true faith.

As a believer, I invite you to look within yourself and see if you really have true faith. As a seeker, it might help you to recognize your truth when you find it.

Ultimately, this hub is about truth, your truth.