10 - Today’ FAITH Gives Me Peace
Faith is the next subject of Maxwell’s Daily Dozen. Faith is a tough topic for individuals to deal with, but Maxwell does a great job in pointing out the value of it in our lives. Maxwell begins by sharing with us the six ways that he has seen that people respond when asked about their faith:
Ignore it.
Misunderstand it.
Discount it.
Fight it.
Delay it.
Explore it.
Maxwell then quotes Teilhard De Chardin who says “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Maxwell adds to this by saying that as humans we are all seeking the meaning of life in one way or another. Maxwell continues by showing us that faith can bring value to us:
Faith gives me a divine perspective today.
Faith gives me health today.
Faith gives me strength for today.
Faith gives me resilience today.
As I continued to read, Maxwell says some of the most powerful things I have ever heard based on faith. “True leadership starts with the heart – with character. The underlying message from God is not to act differently, but to become different. Not to act honestly, but to become an honest person. Then honesty will be at the core of your leadership style. It will be the core of your life. My faith has not only given me peace; it has given me a wonderful model for leadership and life.”
That passage there will stick with me forever. Maxwell adds if honesty is what we are going to put at the forefront, then we must remember this:
We already have faith…the important choice is where we place it.
Understand that faith is often birthed out of difficulties.
A faith that hasn’t been tested can’t be trusted.
Maxwell then shares four suggestions for maintaining our discipline of faith:
Embrace the value of faith.
Put God in the picture.
Associate with people of faith.
Explore and deepen your faith.
Maxwell closes with a quote from St. Augustine of Hippo regarding faith, “Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.”
