The Leap of Faith – an excerpt from Dr. Seger’s book, Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success
One of the great Protestant theologians of the nineteenth century, Soren Kierkegaard, says it takes a leap of faith to move into the world of Spirit. In fact, it takes a leap of faith to move into any endeavor. The future is never assured. The ending is never known.
Faith begins with faith in something unseen. Faith is not about proof, it is its antithesis. Faith sees the world and our lives from another viewpoint. We might define faith as paying attention to the unseen Loving Power that we believe in and try to follow. As times goes on, and we grow in faith, we develop a greater sense of the Unseen Presence. We listen to it and for it, and we begin to trust that this Dependable Power will come through for us. We may feel its presence through the spiritual energy we feel in church, in the middle of a rousing hymn, or with others of our faith who share their compassion, and we feel their love. Some call this experience one of “feeling light,” or feeling comforted, or feeling loved, or feeling safe, or feeling cared for. We might experience this Power as a guide. We sense we are being led in a certain direction, or told, in some way, where we are to go.
The experience then moves us back to a clearer sense of who God is. We use specific names for God to describe the Presence we can trust – the Light Within, the Comforter, the Beloved, the Savior, the Compassionate One, the Lord and Shepherd, the Guide. We learn to call on God, and learn to have faith that the response will be one of love, comfort, safety, and guidance.