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Content warning: Mentions of suicidal thoughts
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“It’s a leap of faith.”
I always found faith intriguing, for what it stands in different contexts. It may be described as the strong trust or confidence in a person, thing or concept. From a religious perspective, it can be belief in a higher being or the religious teachings one may follow.
As this month’s theme is Faith, I decided to conduct a written interview with several individuals regarding their perspectives of faith and what role it plays in their lives, exploring its impacts and meaning.
Let’s dive right in, shall we?
1) Do you identify with any religion?
Athena: Christianity. I grew up in a Christian household.
Jeff: No, I don’t identify with any religion. Because sticking to a specific religion feels like I’d be restricting myself to other various different kinds of thoughts and ideas.
“It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.” – Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender
QuakerOats: I’m a Christian, the one with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. It all started with my parents going to church, I was born, then the birth cert said I’m a Christian.
Mooncake: Christian. I grew up in a Christian home.
Berry: No, I do not. My family does not follow any religion, and I have not thought of joining any yet.
Fish: I am currently agnostic but I grew up religious.
2) What is your concept of faith?
Athena: It would be putting full trust in God, even when you don’t feel His presence, and also trusting that He will accomplish His will.
Jeff: My concept of faith would be something like everyone attending a rain god festival but you’re the only one to bring an umbrella or another good example is (spoiler) in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse where Miles Morales takes that leap of faith believing that everything will work out in the end.
QuakerOats: Faith is just something I believe in. And everything I do is based on some form of faith. Whether believing gym will bring me confidence, or believing I can finish my assignment tomorrow, or believing no amount of success can compare to the love I share with my closest people. But the one thing that everyone can believe in is, we can always test and see the truth and deceit in our faith at the end of the day.
Mooncake: To me, faith is belief in God that He is your God and Saviour.
Berry: Faith is when you believe that someone or something can persevere in any difficult times, and to be able to depend on someone, and for someone to trust in another as a person. It is also to believe in an outcome that might happen in a situation, and to believe that it will bring a better future.
Fish: I feel like this word is mostly associated with religion but it could just be believing in people, any concepts or values.
3) Do you have any personal beliefs or values? How do they shape your life?
Athena: I want to love myself and be able to reject things that I’m not comfortable with.
Jeff: Other than treating others how you would treat yourself, I don’t think I have specific beliefs or values. And I shape it by disabling myself from doing things that I myself don’t want to be done to myself. For example, I don’t engage in things like stealing, lying and harming others.
QuakerOats: One belief I’m trying so hard to hold right now (ironically) is that a righteous man isn’t one who has an unbreakable mind, body, and spirit. But one who is so clear of his unrighteousness to the point where there is nothing left to do except to turn to the only righteous God for help.
This pushes me to examine all my intentions, whether I’m doing all these good works because I love my God for His righteousness so much, or if I’m trying to prove I’m a real Christian.
Mooncake: Do unto others as you wish to be done unto you. I think it is important to not take things for granted and treat others with kindness.
Berry: Yes, I value having a variety of experiences in my life, through workshops and events, as they make my life more interesting, and in turn, I also believe in facing challenging tasks that come my way, and finding a way to tackle them, no matter how tough it may be. This makes me less averse to doing tasks that others may see as troublesome, and it gives me new experiences that I would otherwise not have. I believe that it leads to a fulfilling life that I can look back on without regrets.
Fish: I want to live life to the fullest and try to make the most out of it for people around me to live a better life.
4) How do you remain hopeful while facing tough seasons in life?
Athena: I remain hopeful by talking to friends about my issues, reigniting hopefulness that I will get through these challenges.
Jeff: Either believing that after hitting rock bottom the only way is up or like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or believing something like quantum immortality being real and inescapable.
QuakerOats: Raised as an overthinker, no amount of preparation was ever enough to give me peace. By closely calculating every reality and outcome, I devise myself the perfect reality thinking I am Dr Strange, or even worse, God. And only until recently have I noticed I’ve been missing out. Missing out the tiny blessings God has laid out along the way; that one friend who checked up on me, that one little thank you, that one relationship being built, that one inspiration being planted etc.
I’ve learnt the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether it looks like I’m living the best or the worst, my role is just to obey my God.
Mooncake: Procrastinate and delulu. On a more serious note, I feel having faith and praying about it helps to talk about it.
Berry: I would persevere through, and remind myself that bad situations don’t last forever, as long as I don’t give up in trying. If I am given the opportunity, I would do things that I enjoy to lessen the stress that I may be experiencing.
Fish: I reassure myself that tough sessions are momentary and that I will come out stronger after it. I also use the experience to understand people who go through similar situations in life.
5) How does this faith contribute to your purpose in life? Could you give an example?
Athena: When I’m facing a bad situation which results in having suicidal thoughts, I remind myself that I have not accomplished what God has intended for me. This helps me dismiss those unhealthy thoughts.
Jeff: At the moment, it doesn’t. But I’m trying to work on that.
QuakerOats: To clarify the foundation of the faith being God’s love, I’ll put the verse down below. That it is all His doing and His character that I’m perfectly loved through Jesus. Therefore, it is rational that I love Him and honour Him above all else. So that’s my purpose in life.
Recently, I’m preparing for a frisbee competition coming up and it’s a constant struggle between finding joy from God’s will and from my performance, because I just can’t have both. But this is where I learn humility. I still try hard, but it’s out of His joy, and not for gaining His joy.
Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Mooncake: I have faith that whatever I may be facing, although difficult, is probably temporary and one day I will be able to look back on it and think “Yes, I survived.”. At the end of the day, we are all only human and this won’t carry into our journey beside God in heaven.
Berry: The faith that I will be able to face whatever future that’s in store gives me hope I can achieve my ambitions of becoming an animator and storyteller someday, no matter how insignificant to others they may end up being. It motivates me to work towards my goals and build up my character. My support circles also give me faith that if the worst happens, I will still have them to lean on and be able to get myself back up, as they have been supportive of me and each other through difficult times.
Fish: I don’t think life for me has a definite purpose and I believe that the meaning of life is to give life meaning. Surprisingly, I don’t feel lost with the lack of purpose in my life. In fact it’s reassuring to me that I get to choose how I want to live and have less pressure to fulfil a predetermined purpose.
6) What’s something encouraging you’d say to those who struggle with faith, either in themselves or in general?
Athena: I would say that having friends who support you is important.
Jeff: Believe in the good, focus less on the negative, and do it faster than you can think otherwise.
QuakerOats: My favourite analogy at the moment goes like this: When you see a man who loves his wife very much, you would think he’s a wonderful husband. But one alternative to think about, is maybe it’s the wife that is wonderful, that’s why he is drawn in to love her. When God says He is glorified in our weakness, this is what it means. We always focus on how to be that wonderful husband, instead of focusing on God’s wonderfulness; in His creation, in His word, in the people around you, and in every breath. Go and see His goodness in everything.
Mooncake: I would say trust in the Lord, lean not unto your understanding. Sometimes when I’m sad , I find that listening to worship songs helps. They occasionally contain the message I need and it helps. I also think it’s always good to talk about your problems to someone and not bottle them up.
I personally find that prayer helps too. Even if nothing happens, at least you’ve talked about it and acknowledged the situation. Perhaps you’ll be more calm now and able to clearly think about seeking hope through logical reasoning.
Berry: If they struggle with having faith in themselves, I would say they should try to look on a brighter side and to have them understand that their reality is warped based on the truths they believe in. They should know that their bad qualities and struggles do not define them as a whole. I want them to be assured there will be people who support them, despite feeling otherwise, pushing them away only supports the reality you have accepted, which in turn puts you in a worse spot.
If they are struggling to have faith in general, I would say that things don’t stay bad forever, no matter how long it lasts, that if you believe in a future that is brighter, and if it gives you the drive to work for that future, you will surely reach there.
Fish: For those who are currently struggling, I want to remind you that bad times won’t last forever.
One day you will look back, and I want you all to be proud of yourselves for being able to go through whatever horrible situation life has given you, despite never knowing what you are currently facing.
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To draw this article to a close, it’s clear that faith is huge in people’s lives. Whether it’s from a religious or secular perspective, having faith reveals the trust we place in ourselves and the constructs which shape our understanding of the world we live in.
Faith helps us grow, believing that it’ll all come together in the end, that what we’re chasing is truly worth it. When you’re lacking faith in yourself or struggling to hold onto your beliefs, trust the process, it’s part of this incredible journey.
After all, isn’t living itself a leap of faith?
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Written by: Zhen Li
