Deepening Faith

Hey, no one needs a market analyst to recognize that the market here and abroad has recently fallen through the floor. While it seems bottomless, there is no solace in knowing that there is an absolute floor of resistance the the averages will bounce off of. People - everywhere - are scared and the recession-proofing that was built into the stock market, does not account for fear of this nature. Interestingly, people living in poverty are not as scared. And to be certain they will bear the brunt of this recession more than anyone. They aren't scared because they have not lost anything - they had none to lose.

But we in the middle and others like my client I wrote of (Moment of Truth, 10/7/08), we have lost some of the future in which we had invested: retirement plans, 401K's, Social Security. Uncertainty has become the state of things for now and the foreseeable future. And yet our leader (W, himself) wants us to pretend that all is well in happy land. Sorry, Dubyah, I do not have faith in you, nor do I accept your ignorance and empty promises.

So what are we to do in times like these? Politicians and money brokers are looking out for their own best interests and that may or may not work out for all of us in the long run (secretly, I think that whatever solution "they" work out will ultimately benefit mostly "them"). The answer is not what you want to hear - nor is it an answer at all. You see, these are the times without answers. These are the times of doubt. These are the times that try men's souls. So the reality is that we look into these times and hone our faith. We need to view these situations like Peter stepping out of the boat, and ask ourselves, "do we believe?" "But when [Peter] noticed the strong wind he became frightened and, beginning to sink, cried out,'Lord, save me!' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him saying, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Mt. 14:30-31)

Do we have faith now when there is no reason to have faith? Do we believe when there is nothing in which to believe? We need to move beyond our inner Peter and inner Thomas to exercise true faith. So yesterday the Almighty Dow jumped in some shark-like feeding frenzy response of bargain-hunting. And we are all happy again. Indeed! "Have you believed because you have seen? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." John 20:29