Faith is a concept that often seems abstract, but doesn’t have to be. I love to think in metaphors, and their relativity to life. “Faith is not watering when the forecast is for rain…” ~ what does it mean to you? How trusting are you these days? Do you trust in the government, a positive future, and your ability to create the life that you want? Do you feel like you understand the delicate balance between action and surrender?
To understand this metaphor, I like to imagine a gardener whose gardens need watering and who knows that rain is predicted. Instead of anxiously watering the plants, the gardener trusts the forecast and allows nature to take its course. This act of restraint is a demonstration of faith. It signifies a belief in the reliability of the forecast and the natural order of things.
Human instinct is to take control, to act out of fear, uncertainty, or even just the natural impulse to try to regulate our surroundings. This is the result of thousands of years of evolution of our survival mentality. Faith calls for a different approach. It invites you to step back and trust that everything will unfold as it should. This doesn’t mean becoming passive or neglecting your own efforts. It means recognizing when you have done enough and when it is time to trust that the universe will handle the rest. We can only do the best we can, and let go of the results.
Don’t judge yourself, as the desire to control every outcome is a common human tendency. By nature we want assurance, clarity, and immediate results. But faith involves letting go of this need for control. It’s about believing that even if you don’t constantly interfere, things will work out. Sometimes it will work out even better! When you act out of anxiety or mistrust, you often disrupt the natural flow and create unnecessary complications. Faith teaches you to believe in the timing of things, to trust that the rain will come when it is needed, and that your efforts will eventually yield results. However we must always remember the old saying that “life is what happens when we have something else planned”.
I spent many years trying to control as much as possible in my life. I learned from my society-bound parents that I had an image to uphold, personally and professionally. I took it on with a vengeance, and tried to control everything ~ my career, my children, my wives, all while trying to crush the desires within me that didn’t fit with the image I was fighting so hard to maintain. Let me tell you, it didn’t work out well. Once I let go and relinquished my need for control, I allowed the natural flow of life to guide me differently, and my whole life changed. I learned to believe in the process, and to have confidence in the future, however unsure it looked along the way.
What about this thing we call “planning”? We want to ensure that everything goes according to our “plans”. Yet, as the saying goes: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” This doesn’t mean that you are exempt from planning and working towards your goals, but it reminds us to leave room for the orchestrations of the Universe, both the surprises we love and the ones that challenge and teach us.
While faith is essential, it must coexist with action. Lovely as it seems, you can’t simply sit back and expect everything to fall into place without any effort. Just as a gardener prepares the soil and plants the seeds before trusting the rain to water them, you must lay the groundwork for your dreams and aspirations. Faith is the confidence that your actions will lead to the desired outcomes.
Faith is not a passive state but an active form of trust. It involves a conscious decision to believe in something greater than yourself. If you start a new project with faith, you have confidence that your hard work will eventually pay off, even if the results are not immediately visible. It’s about trusting in your potential for growth and success despite no gratifying rapid results. It is also important to be flexible to recognize when the universe is giving us something better than what we wanted.
So next time you feel the urge to water your garden despite the rain forecast, take a step back, trust, and let faith do its work. Ironically, I just got a notice that my water bill would be larger than normal because I was watering my gardens more than normal. There are no such things as coincidences.
If the gardening example doesn’t quite hit home for you, there are many other real life examples!
In sailing, the wind is an unpredictable but crucial element. A sailor with experience and faith in nature doesn’t constantly adjust the sails in anticipation of every gust. Instead, they set their course and let the wind carry them forward, trusting in its power and their ability to navigate. Just as a sailor relies on the wind, having faith means believing that the necessary forces will come into play when needed, without the need for constant intervention
In winter, after a heavy snowfall, a person with faith in the natural order doesn’t go out and try to melt the snow themselves. Instead, they trust that the sun will eventually rise and the warmth will melt the snow away. Just as one trusts the sun to melt the snow and things will grow again, faith involves trusting that the right circumstances will naturally unfold without constant human intervention.
When baking bread, the baker kneads the dough and adds yeast, knowing that it needs time to rise. Rather than constantly checking and interfering with the dough, the baker trusts that the yeast will do its job. Have you been so lucky as to have eaten freshly baked bread? Without the baker’s belief that the dough would rise, we’d all miss out on the delight that is delicious toast on a Sunday morning.
Years ago I heard of a speaker who asked his diverse educated audience: “Who knows what your spleen does?” Many people looked at least mildly unsure. He went on to emphasize that the vast majority of us have no idea how the intricate workings of our own body operate and keep us alive, yet somehow we think that we know more than the Universe. We believe that we should be “in control” of everything, when there is so much beyond our capacity to even understand, let alone control! The Universe holds the big picture, so let this be your reminder to hold as much focus on Faith as you do on action. And if the forecast calls for rain, curl up inside with some delicious beverage (and maybe freshly baked bread) and learn from my new documentary, Beyond Physical Matter. It will help you to understand how much Faith you should have in the Universe.
Check it out at: https://www.jamesgrayrobinson.com/beyond-physical-matter/