Reflections on the Landscape of Faith
We all carry a kind of mental map of our spiritual journey, even if you might not be aware that you are operating one. Like most maps, yours probably depicts familiar landmarks by which you navigate and measure progress on your Christian faith pilgrimage.
But what happens when your experience of faith begins to change so dramatically, that you feel you’re getting to the edge of your known map? Or worse, you begin to lose ‘faith’ in your formerly dependable landmarks?
One day I completely lost one of my most valued landmarks… one by which I had always navigated my way on the faith journey. Despite having retained a rich sense of the presence of God all my life, on an unassuming summer’s day some years ago, that sense completely and inexplicably disappeared. And my entire landscape of faith changed in an instant.
I think it’s fair to say that most of our faith-maps don’t include a route along which we might face our struggles without a felt sense of God, the security and love he brings. And I never doubted the theological truth that God was alive and well, or even that God loved me, but for the first time in my life, I simply couldn’t feel the reality. The radio frequency of our contact which had previously been easy to tune into, had now defaulted into white static noise.