Sometimes our faith is not so strong. It might feel as though it is fading away. Perhaps we feel like a “ghost” of our former self. In these times we might be tempted to panic. We may think that because we experience our faith differently now to the more immediate, happy or powerful times we remember there must be something terribly wrong.

But, our experience of faith, our experience of God may change. They may fade in and out, seeming sometimes to be stronger or clearer, but ultimately they will never fully snap into focus and we will never be fully whole in our faith until we meet God in the new creation.

If we are worried about our faith or our current lack of experience then that in itself can be an encouragement. We notice that things seem to be fading and we yearn for better – that can be a powerful prayer.

Clinging on in hope is sometimes what our faith will look like. It won’t always be roses and sunshine, but neither will it always be heartache and pain. The faintest prayer, the most blurred vision of what we should be, the sense that we aren’t whole and need God’s help – all of these can point to a faith that is clinging on.

In fact, paradoxically, our yearning for God and hence our faith can be stronger when we seem to be fading than when we whiz through life and all is going well…

© Joe Lenton, November 2012

(Image used by permission – Original Art Photgraphy by Joe Lenton – www.originalartphotography.co.uk)