faith

"faith is the victory" read the words of the old hymn. and as in the words from that title, borrowed for this little project, it also says "we tread the road the saints above with shouts of triumph trod" reminding me that i too am a part of that "great cloud of witnesses" the author of the book of hebrews describes.
and although i have sometimes identified with tolstoy when he said "if i know the road home and walk along it drunken, tottering from side to side, does that prove that the path along which i am walking is not the true one?" i know too that as i walk by faith and not by sight on this journey, that God's word remains the only working lamp to illuminate my darkness.
but this faith is a continuing mystery to me. i continue to believe in what is not seen, and to hope for what is to come. and when i meditate on the very word i even wonder what is this faith, and from where is it supplied? for certainly in my own meager intellect i could not alone grasp it, hang on to it, like an anchor in the raging sea. but it is mine, a gift from the Creator. like a handshake made in the darkness. and so, like the apostles i ask for more of it! increase my faith in you Jesus. because you alone came to save us. and may it be said about me when i'm gone by the saints who remain, "the faith by which he conquered death is still our shining shield". faith is the victory.