Is This Your Hidden Talent?

Answer

Spiritual concepts often get lost in translation. The Hebrew word for faith is emunah. But emunah doesn’t really mean faith. It means training.

Think of it like this. You may have a natural gift for music. But unless you practice, your fingers will never play in tune. You may be a born dancer. But only with practice will your body learn the steps. Talent is innate. Skill comes from training.

Faith is the same. Deep down, you already have emunah. Your soul sees what the eyes may not, that G-d is real and life has purpose. What you need is not more convincing. What you need is training. You have to teach your mind to see what your soul already knows.

If you want the benefits of faith even with your doubts, try a 40-day challenge. Not a fitness challenge. A faith challenge.

For forty days, act as if you already have faith and think like a believer. Wake up and thank G-d for another day of life. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your purpose, to bring more goodness into the world around you. When things don’t go your way, remind yourself that this too is part of a bigger plan. And when the world seems to be getting worse, remember that it is only another step toward getting better.

At first it may feel forced. Like any new workout, it will take effort to keep at it. But the more you train, the more natural it becomes. You will still face hard times, and you will need to flex your faith muscles to get through. But gradually you will lose the doom-and-gloom outlook and start to see the world through believing eyes.

You may never be a concert pianist or a professional ballerina. But you can live with emunah. You have it in you. It is not pretending. It is revealing the talent you already have.