Some people explain faith as trust or confidence in someone or something. Others describe it as a leap beyond reason—an essential step to make or find meaning in a world that seems uncertain or absurd.

Religious faith is the belief in a higher power or spiritual truth, usually without empirical evidence. Hebrews 11:1 explains it this way:

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Let me first break down what Hebrews 11:1 means:

1. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for”

“Assurance” means confidence, certainty, or a firm foundation. In this context, it refers to God’s promises and the confidence we place in who He is and what He stands for. Assurance in faith is the certainty you have in your relationship with God. It is trusting that God is with you—even when you don’t feel His presence.

The concept of being “forsaken” in the Bible has various interpretations. Even Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” on the cross—feeling separation in the moment of greatest sacrifice for humanity’s salvation.

So how do you “cling” to faith when you feel you cannot sense God’s presence?

Silence is not absence.

Sometimes, silence is a sign of trust in God’s plan. A time for growth, for self-reflection, or simply waiting on God’s perfect timing.

We don’t know what God is doing behind the scenes.

When God doesn’t answer your prayers immediately, it doesn’t mean He’s ignoring you. It might mean that what you’re asking for isn’t right for you—or that He’s still preparing it.

But in our fast-paced world, we want everything now. And when the answer doesn’t come immediately, we assume God isn’t listening. So we stop praying. Stop believing.

That’s not how faith works.

Sometimes we’re so fixated on a specific outcome that we miss how God is already working—both in us and in others. His work is often deeper, wiser, and aimed at long-term transformation.

God doesn’t want performance. He wants honesty.

Tell Him you’re angry. Tell Him you’re hurt. Say you’re struggling to talk to Him today. Tell Him you don’t understand what He’s doing.

God does not judge your humanity. He does not punish you for being who He created you to be.

Stand before Him in your most vulnerable state. Ask Him for wisdom, understanding, clarity, and the faith to endure. Know that He is guiding, shaping, and forming you into who He wants you to be.

2. “…the conviction of things not seen.”

“Conviction” here refers to a deep inner certainty or assurance—an unshakable trust in what can’t be seen with the eyes.

“Things not seen” are spiritual truths: the existence of God, His presence, His promises.

Faith in this context means having the ability to see the invisible as real. Not because you can prove it with physical evidence, but because you trust the character of God and the truth of His Word.

In essence:

Faith is believing, trusting, and committing to God—even when you don’t fully understand who He is or what He’s doing.

It’s choosing to believe that there’s more at work than what the eye can see.

Many of us struggle to believe in what we can’t see—yet we believe in air, though it’s invisible. We believe that planting a seed and watering it will eventually cause it to grow, even though we can’t see what’s happening underground.

But if we plant a seed and never water it, it stays a seed. Nothing grows.

If you—like me, and many others—have started to neglect your faith, stopped “watering” it, I hope this reflection encourages you to start again.

Believe that God hears you.
Believe that He is by your side.
Believe that He is answering—even when you don’t understand how or when.

Open your heart, your mind, and your eyes to what God is doing in your life. It won’t happen immediately, and you won’t give all of you when you have decided this, but allow yourself, daily, to give parts of yourself to God, so He can heal you, protect you, and guide you.