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Enjoy another wonderful text by Rev. Phil Smedsted, minister Emeritus of Oasis Rising Center

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A Positive Path for Spiritual Living

Oasis Rising Center Spiritual Center
Oasis Rising Center 8125 West Sahara Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89125
(702) 804-8189
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“Have Faith In God” 
By Rev. Phillip Smedstad

This lesson was inspired by the Bible classes we’ve had here at Unity the past several weeks. 

This past Sunday, the focus was on the story of Abraham and Sarah (which began as the story of Abram and Sarai) in the book of Genesis. 

These two are very inspiring characters, especially when we realize that Abram didn’t hear God as a booming voice from the clouds, saying, “Yo Abram, I need you to move several hundred miles west.”  Abram and Sarai heard God speak in the same way that you and I hear God speak – as a thought, a hunch, a feeling, an intuition, or a leading.

God said to Abram, “Pack everything.  Start going west and I’ll tell you when to stop.” 

There’s no way for us to imagine how dangerous and difficult such a trek would have been 3,000 years ago.  Then, when they get to Canaan, they hear Spirit say, “Stop.  This is the place for you to settle.”

In Unity, we say that Bible history is really “his story and her story.”  Metaphysically, it is the story of our developing spirituality.  Each character, event, and place represents some aspect of each of us today.  Abraham represents our developing faith.

In the New Testament, Jesus’ disciples ask him, “Master, how can we have more faith?”  In response, Jesus says, “Have faith in God.”  On the surface, this sounds simplistic, but it can mean, “Practice knowing that you have a Higher Power.”

In the Bible story, there is a certain point where Abram and Sarai have their names changed to Abraham and Sarah.  This happens after they have demonstrated faith in God.  The added “h” signifies “the breath of Spirit,” and “Spirit is in charge of my life.”

This story begins with Abram and Sarai in Haran.  In Hebrew, “Haran” means “a high place.”  This represents a time in our life when we are experiencing material success, while at the same time knowing it isn’t enough without knowing our oneness with God.

So Abram and Sarai leave to follow their spiritual guidance, knowing that this is the only kind of life which will ever fulfill them.

In Hebrew, “Sarai” means “bitter, quarrelsome, contentious.”  As a woman in the Bible, she represents part of our feminine side, especially our emotions.  Actually, Sarai is a forerunner of Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose name in Hebrew means almost exactly the same thing.

This represents the feelings we have when we have the thought, “There has to be a better way to live than always feeling afraid and guilty.”  Rev. Eric Butterworth would call this “divine discontent.

At this point, we leave our comfort zone (represented by Haran) and go to Canaan, which, in Hebrew, means “low, inferior, nothingness.”  This represents what the Buddhists call “beginner’s mind.”  This frame of mind is when we are open and willing to be changed.  We leave a life that we know, and we are willing to be a beginner once again.

In this new way of life, called “having Spirit be in charge,” we realize that our judgments don’t make us wise and our defenses don’t make us safe.  Also, we realize that instead of being good at “making decisions,” we need to learn to listen to our guidance and respond to it.

Abraham is the founder of three spiritual traditions – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. 

This symbolizes that faith is the beginning of knowing our oneness with God, no matter which spiritual path we’re on.  Then, the more we see positive results in our lives from following our guidance, the safer it becomes to do so again.  As someone once said, “What I have seen teaches me to trust in what I have not seen.”

These days, I no longer use the faculty of faith to tell me that God is real, although that was what I used when I started on my path.  These days, I know God as a very real Presence and Power in my daily life.  But when I hear Spirit tell me to do something which my intellect judges as stupid, it still takes faith to say yes and do it.
Part of the answer to the question, “How can we have more faith,” is to act on the guidance we receive.”  Another part is to listen to other peoples’ stories of Spirit’s guidance in their lives.  I’m happy to report that it is always safe and highly rewarding to follow our guidance.

Late in the Bible story of Abraham and Sarah, they believe that they are too old to have a child.  In us, this represents the thought, “It’s too late to have the life I want.”  Then they hear their guidance say, “You really are going to have a baby.”  And they do.  They have a son and call him Isaac.

In Hebrew, “Isaac” means “joy, happiness, laughter.”  In us, this represents the idea that, “It’s never too late to have the joyful life we want and deserve.”

So, practice having faith in God.  Keep developing your relationship with your Higher Power.  Have faith that you can hear your guidance.  (You really can.)  And especially, have faith that the same spiritual principles which work for others will work in your life too.  They absolutely will.