Keep your faith in times of trouble
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 1:11 (NLT)
A friend recently informed me she is working on thinking thoughts of faith. She claims to have too many depressing thoughts and has decided to change more of her thoughts to ones of faith-filled dreams.
Dwelling on the negative in life can make us feel sad, disheartened and hopeless that anything will change.
We all know this past year has brought a huge storm cloud of depressing situations. And it's vitally important to our well-being that we don't stay in the dark about what's happening. But when the negative thoughts dominate our minds, it can actually cause an emotional breakdown.
I remember a few months ago when some of my friends and coaching clients were contacting me because they were distraught and overwhelmed. They just needed some encouragement to keep the situations balanced with some faith-filled thoughts for positive outcomes. We all do.
Like my friend's search to become more positive, if we face life's challenges in a positive, optimistic approach this is what the Bible terms "faith."
When we keep our faith we are not denying the facts of our negative situations, we are aware bad things can and do happen. But when they do we believe, with God's help, things can and will improve.
Staying in faith helps us to view the negative circumstances with a more positive outlook rather than looking through the lens of life with a constant pessimistic view.
When troubling thoughts fill our minds, we can turn the devils of doubt around by thinking about possible solutions. We can focus on some new goals or search for creative ways to pursue our old ones.
And we can use our faith to trust God to bring help when there appears to be none. The Apostle Paul mentions he kept the faith by pressing on toward his goals during times of hardship (Philippians 3:14).
Searching for some laughter through a funny movie, cartoon or laughing at some of our personal life's funnier moments can help balance out the blues negative thoughts can bring.
One of my adult sons seemed to know this. One day when I called him he said he would call me back later. He informed me he had a stressful day and needed to watch a movie and de-stress. The Bible instructs us that a merry heart does us good like a medicine. It's a spiritual anti- depressant for what bothers us (Proverbs 17:22).
Faith is the spiritual force dreams are made of. As we are dreaming for a more positive future, we must make sure we're not constantly hindering our dreams with negative thoughts and balance them by changing our focus with some faith-filled ones.
Making prayer and gratitude part of our day, along with a perspective that God is good, can go a long way in helping us keep the faith.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. Contact her by emailing Annetteebudzban@aol.com or calling (847) 543-8413.