What is faith??

I always thought that faith was optimism. When you are down to your last five dollars, you believe that you will not always be broke. Sometimes that is good, when there is hope. Sometimes you have to accept that your unfortunate situation won't change. Someone who is disabled permanately must accept his or her disability. Someone who is dying must accept that he or she is going to die. How can people who have faith when their situation is hopeless?

When I heard that someone was sick, I used to pray that they would get better and have their health fully restored. Sometimes people would get better, but most of the time they would still die. I thought that my prayers were useless, then I studied Catholicism.

I learned that everyone in this life will go through some sort of pain, even if it is only the pain of dying. Because sin has corrupted this world, people suffer and that means we all will die someday. God will comfort and help everyone who turns to Him when they are suffering. God won't always take away their suffering, but He will help them through it. When I pray for someone who is suffering, I should pray that he or she will be open to God's help and that he or she will turn to God to comfort him or her.

There is this person that I know who went through this. He wasn't dying, but he had to deal with disappointment. He really wanted a position in his job, and he was given a chance in that position and he did really badly. He was given another position in his job, which he didn't like. He was really disappointed, and I prayed for that he could accept God's prescence in his life in his new position. I really admire this guy. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he does his new job with enthusiasm and gusto. He didn't turn his back on God or lose his faith, he kept on praying. Most importantly, he has a new understanding of God. God won't give Him everything that he wants, but He will be there to help him deal with disappointments at not getting what he wants. This guy tells everyone about his new understanding of God.

The reason why many people lose their faith, including me, is because they don't understand what faith really is. It isn't having blind optimism or a positive attitude all the time. Real faith is know that God is there and He cares when you are suffering. I hope that when I suffer, I will turn to God and keep praying and ask God to help me through it.