Faith in the Unseen

It was Christmastime. I was in High School and shoulder-strap purses were all the rage in teen fashion.

I reeaallly wanted one.

I took a part-time job to save the money to buy one but; by the time I received my first paycheck, the stores were completely sold out.

I searched store after store with no success.

Truthfully, I thought I wanted the purse, so I’d fit in with the popular girls. I thought it would up level my status and; I’d be cool.

Christmas came and went, and the department stores never restocked the sold-out purses. I was deeply disappointed.

As a young student of spiritual principles, I had been studying how to manifest my desires, and thought I had done all the manifestation steps correctly. 

I set an intention for the purse, spoke my desire in prayer, did my part to earn and save the money, and felt certain I’d have one.  But I failed, or...so it seemed.

Give God a chance

In my spiritual studies, I was learning to let go and let God take care of my desires.  I confess, I was pretty emotionally attached to the outcome and letting go was a steep learning curve.

I affirmed trustingly the Spirit of God within me knew how to handle my request because basically...I was out of options.   

February rolled around and my transformational fashion piece was still nowhere to be found.

Then one day my mom asked me to drive her to a shoe store on the far side of town to buy a specialty pair of therapeutic shoes she wanted.

You remember those specialty shoe stores. There were no “accessories” in the stores “back then.” They sold only shoes... no socks, belts, or jewelry, and certainly not purses. 

Innocently helping my mom with something important to her, and no thought of the purse, we arrived at the shoe store and; just inside the door on a huge display table I saw them.

Not just one, but purse after should-strap purse on beautiful display in an array of beautiful colors.   

I bought one immediately and truthfully, I can still remember the happiness I felt all the way down into the core of my being.

Happiness in my core 

What was interesting was that I wasn’t happy because the purse would somehow finally magically transport me into the inner circle of the popular girls – oh no – they were already on to the next big fashion trend. 

I felt immeasurably happy because finding the purse was, for me, answered prayer. It was a hand’s on, in-my-face, PROOF that I had the ability to demonstrate my heart’s desires.

I had a first-hand experience of how God was more than willing to fulfill my desires...no matter how small or. . . how seeming material.

I experienced how Spirit could guide me to exactly the place where my desire could be fulfilled.

Spirit knew where my purse was and how to get it to me (or in this case – how to get me to it).

Your prayers can and will be answered.

That memory drifted through my mind today and; I wanted to share with you the power in your desires so you can feel encouraged.

Faith is a wonderful spiritual gift. It is our way of knowing God’s goodness is present even when we can’t yet see it.

However, if you’re like me, sometimes my faith can waver if I think situations are taking too long to work out.

If matters don’t appear to be going in the direction I hope, I wonder whether my prayers even matter.    

The assurance of fulfillment

The Book of Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

I’ve always liked to think of this passage as... “things not YET seen” because that idea encourages me to continue to hope and trust in what my human self cannot “yet” see physically.

I remember it is God who first placed the desire in my heart, and it is God who will bring it to fulfillment. 

I remember that a desire really is a great inspiration that enters my consciousness directly from God.

It’s a spiritual ideal planted within me by God... a very real thing that is seeking to be expressed through me. 

And once I have received the imprint of the desire, and given it shape in my imagination and life in my feelings; I can then let go and trust that it will be made visible in my physical life.

I can trust it’s on its way from the unseen, invisible realm of divine substance to the very real visible reality in my life.

Eva Bell Werber in her book, Quiet Talks with the Master speaks to us in God’s voice about the origin and fulfillment of our heart’s desire using this beautiful description:

“My child, a great truth has entered your consciousness. A truth which shall enable you to bring into manifestation that which you are led by my Spirit to desire for yourself and for your loved ones. You shall find, as you meet me here in this holy spot of high vibrations, that I shall be able, as never before, to speak to your heart the things I long to give you. Plant or form in your spirit, the desires, the conditions to which you are led to aspire, and then know that once it is  formed in spirit, it will attract to itself its counterpart in the material world. It shall be made visible and tangible to your physical senses.”

Having this working knowledge of the processes of Creation, we can better  understand that all desires are first inspired within us by God and then brought to pass by God. 

However, too often we can get the “little me” out in front of the “BIG I” and stamp our feet about what we want so insistently.

We have to remember to get ourselves out of the way to let God work in and through us.

Building a spirit-led life is a continuous task but thankfully our powerful minds are up for the challenge.

What are you praying for today?

Each day you can choose to believe. Building trust and a lasting faith take time and not a little effort. It’s not just one prayer you say and “voila!”

• Turn to God in prayer and receive the “imprint” of your heart’s desire.
• Give it shape and form in your mind’s eye.
• Feel it joyfully in your heart.
• Paint it vividly in your imagination.
• Let yourself be filled with the peace about its fulfillment.
• Know it has been planted within you by God.
• Know it is taking shape, and will come to fulfillment at exactly the right time in exactly the right way for the highest good of all concerned.   
• Then go about your day believing your answer will appear.

Give up the heavy lifting and solo human efforting and open to receive. God knows where your good is and how to get it to you.

When you choose to pursue a life in deep connection with Spirit, success will always be possible!

In touch with the divine:
If you want to go deeper with today’s spiritual insight, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Be still for a moment throughout the day and feel its influence within you.