FAITH. How best can you describe this intangible force with tangible words? I have slightly discussed the theory of faith in a previous post. The good news is we all exhibit faith at every point of our lives. It is that gut feeling and confidence you have in something or someone. It is the belief that something will come to pass at its own time. Strong rooted faith is really indescribable and cannot be fully expressed. But here is a perfect definition of faith:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

HEBREWS 11:1 NKJV

A similar concept would be defining faith as ‘receipts’ for life purchases. It is what you hold on to before the ‘package’ arrives. If you have ordered a product online, you must know this feeling. When you purchase a product online, you get a confirmation order or receipt that your package is on its way. Most times, you must have inserted your card details and pay even though you have not physically seen your item.

This belief comes from trust in that system. You strongly believe the person at the other end would fulfil his other part of the deal. Your faith in life should be strong and more unwavering than this system. You should wake up and do your work, knowing your ‘package’ (your goals, desires and aspirations) will finally be delivered to you at its time.

However, there are times when your faith wavers. Especially those days when the ‘package’ takes longer periods to land for you. At those moments, it seems delay is gradually turning to denial. Don’t worry. I have got you covered. Here are some tips to stay true to the end:

Faith for the Modern Millennial
Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

KNOW YOUR ULTIMATE SOURCE OF FAITH

Yeah. Having faith in temporal things simply leads to constant faltering belief. These temporal things include: your goals, money, health, career, medicine and even your innate wisdom. Having faith in these things is fine. You need to have conviction in them to thrive and become your highest self (being successful in all aspects of your life). However, there should be a central anchor of faith on which your other convictions rely on.

That anchor is God through his Son, Jesus Christ. Yes dear, he is your rock on which you should firmly build your house on. He is the ‘delivery guy’ who always delivers at the appointed time. Learn to trust in Him.

IDENTIFY YOUR MAJOR SOURCES OF DISTRACTION

There’s a reason we must specifically identify major sources of distractions. This is because the only way you avoid all interferences today is to live in a cave disconnected from people, the internet and the entire world. (Even the wandering mind can still be a distraction at this point).

So here is what you can do. Take your time to identify the major activities that distracts you and causes your faith to waver on certain days. Then unplug them. Or readjust them in a way that boosts your faith and resolve.

For instance, in the past few months, I discovered a major source of my distractions. Social media. I was always online. And it began to affect my mental health and outlook towards life: Unhealthy Twitter trends and threads (it’s shocking how some people are ready to ruin others in the name of banter and grammar correction).

This app is too sensitive for me. You could say I love my life and suicidal people would get offended.

TWEET FROM @qgatss (chivo) –

The seemingly endless Instagram feed. Overwhelming information on Facebook (I was in so many knowledge-sharing groups and communities. I forgot to share my own knowledge or apply most of them I learnt on a daily basis)

Yeah. Those were my major sources of distractions. Here is what I did:

  • I started slowly by setting countdown timers on my dominant social media apps (for example Twitter – 1 hour, Instagram – 30 minutes, Facebook – 30 minutes, WhatsApp – 1 hour 30 minutes) Once the allotted time elapsed, the specific app shuts down for the rest of the day. Achieve this strategy through ‘Digital well-being and parental control’ on Android OS. P.S: I must admit I removed the timers on some days, but the discipline got stronger as the weeks went by.
  • I eventually uninstalled the apps. It felt unnatural at that time. But I did it at the end.
  • After setting up a plan on how to manage my social media, I re-installed Instagram and created a new account (which you can FOLLOW HERE). With this new page, I was now deliberate with whom I follow and the content I create and consume. The plan is to replicate this tactic with other social media platforms.

In sum, everyone has a way of managing their major distractions. Just make sure you do what suits you. Identify. Then unplug.

STRIVE TO BECOME THE MEN OF OLD

This sounds very strange, right? Advising you to be like ancient men when there are so many successful people to emulate today sounds absurd. Yet, what you learn from the people of old are their core values, principles and astounding faith. In this context, the people of old are the successful individuals mentioned in Hebrews 11:4-35.

The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

HEBREWS 11:2 MSG

To imitate them, through your faith:

  • Pursue excellence like Abel
  • Stand apart like Enoch
  • Prepare ahead like Noah
  • Believe till the end like Abraham and Sarah
  • Understand the power of your words like Isaac, Jacob and Joseph
  • Sacrifice every other thing for the right reason like Moses
  • Seek peace like Rahab

Yeah. This is the end. Do all the above and experience stronger bouts of faith as modern millennials. Cheers.