There are a set of words that stretch my mind. Faith is one of these words. Over the years I have developed a working definition for most of my mind stretching words and here is my working definition for faith.
"Faith is accepting someone else's description of my current circumstances and acting on that description as if it is true."
For example, one night in the Denver Holiday Inn my family and I were startled into consciousness by the fire alarm’s loud rasping never ending sound. We had to decide how to respond. We didn’t feel any heat or smell any smoke, but on faith we dressed quickly and left the motel.
Vertigo (a sensation that things are moving, when they really are not) is an experience every pilot has when learning to fly on instruments. The pilot must decide where to put his trust. Should he trust the instruments that say he is going straight and level, or his feelings that say he is turning, climbing, or diving? The pilots that live put their faith in their instruments.
The people that get the most out of life realize that life only goes around once. They don't have time for trial and error in everything. Therefore they use faith in others to guide them; parents, teachers, flight instructors, pastors, friends...
Life is full of vertigo (when things around us really are not what they seem at the moment). I’ve decided that God (through His Word) is the place I put my faith. He is my instrument panel for life. When my desires and feelings don't agree with His Word, I don't trust my feelings or satisfy my desires.
"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. Men of God in days of old were famous for their faith." Heb 1.1-2 LB
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