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The Gamble of Faith

At some point in your journey you are going to find yourself at a precipice,  where your only choices are to turn back or continue forward armed only with a level of faith that is so blind it makes you uncomfortable and worrisome.

Running on faith alone can feel like running on fumes, even to those with highly developed confidence in God. It’s different when you don’t know. When you can’t see the other side. When so many worries and doubts tell you to turn back.

Let me help you understand what you are doing.

First off, your faith is not blind. Look back at your life and see all the little miracles. See all the coincidences and weird events that led you to where you are now. See all the little ways that something beyond your comprehension seemed to help you become better; to lead you to where you needed to be, to help you do what you thought was impossible.

This is the same force you invoke now as you hurdle towards your dreams.

You are having faith that there is magic left in the world; that this magic is available to those who have choosen to pull themselves together and charge ahead to the greatest desires of their heart.

You are having faith in the notion that redemption and reinvention is not only possible, but one of the most sacred activities a man or women can undertake. You are having faith that some mechanism in the universe rewards (does not punish) such acts.

You are having faith that your dream was given to you for a reason; that you were not meant to see it only after you had failed it. That God wants you to pass this test, to achieve this dream of yours.

You may feel that you have already failed your dream. That it’s too late. That you have no chance. No choice but to spend the rest of your life watching what you could have had and dying every time you see it. A life of misery, regret, and irony.

This is not how dreams work. Dreams work like true love. They are forever waiting on you to embrace them. Show me a man and a woman that have denied their love for 40 years and finally embrace it and I will show you a man that has finnally acted on a dream only to find that it was waiting on him all along.

These are the things you bet on when you take a gamble of faith.

You will hear so many people — the voices of the wold — tell you that you are being foolish; that you have no chance; that it’s too late.

Tell me, dear conflicted reader, what does that voice in your head say? Does it say to stop? Does it say to give up? Does it say that you’ve already lost? Does it say you’re bieng foolish?  That is not the voice of the spirit. That is the voice of the world and convention. That is the voice you’ve invented yourself.

The voice of the spirit, the voice of your heart says “Keep going. Keep going because you have no idea what’s in store. Keep going and I will make your wildest dreams come true. Do not be afraid. You have already won this battle. You cannot see it yet, but you will.”

That is the gamble of faith: to keep going, even when every logical bone in your body sees nothing but failure and pain ahead. You keep going, because the heart sees something else.

8 Responses to “The Gamble of Faith”

  1. Heather A. says:

    Today, with tears of gratitude and inexpressible joy, I’m here to say, that I’ve been off the evil pill for seven days. I know that seems like nothing since this drug has plagued my mind, body and soul for about seven years. But it is everything. Because this time, I do it with purpose. This time, I do it not because I hate the restless nights, my broken-out skin, my dull and witless personality, the isolation and suffocation, the chronic sweating or the wheels that constantly spin yet never go anywhere. I quit once and for all because it is time to acknowledge the simple truth. It’s a truth that in this drawn out, hazy, coma of an existance, I have painstakingly neglected–I HAVE A PURPOSE. I was created by a loving God who gifted me with amazing gifts and talents meant for the benefit of others. Sadly, I chose the selfish route, clinging to this disgusting love affair with a little pill that will never love me back for far too long. The reality is this–All of us were created with a void in our souls. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that most of our time, whether we’re cognizant or not, is spent in a perpetual search of filling that void. The problem is–it is an infinite hole that we attempt to fill with finite things. It can only be filled by God. He made us..He knows every single thing about us. He knows the number of hairs on our heads and formed our innermost parts. We were made with a heart that knows there’s something more to this life. We are in awe of that fact and so we long to express that somehow. That is called worship. We all desire to worship something and we all will. If it is not a drug or substance, it is a person, a possession, a goal, a talent, a relationship. Whatever we devote ourselves to or go to first for comfort or strength, that is our god. Thing is–those gods will never satisfy. Try all you want, but you can never escape it. You will never know true peace until you devote your heart to Christ…..Ok.So there you go–my unintentional sermon =). Seriously, quitting adderall is hard. I slept the first two days away but there is light at the end. Don’t be scared to quit. It doesn’t have to be a year long process, just give it over to God. He can and will heal you. So yes Mike, it is all about faith. Thank you so much for this article and this site and all the wisdom and genuine care that you impart to all of us struggling with addiction. I applaud you. I want to encourage people to start 2010 off on the right foot. Don’t live one more second in this lonely darkness. You don’t need adderall. You can achieve your goals and the happiness you truly desire one step at a time. Put your faith in God. He will carry you. He will sustain you. It’s time to live a life of purpose.

  2. Mike says:

    Congrats, Heather!

    Thanks for your comment. Interesting point about the void. I think many people can fill the void-feeling by staying very, very busy with work for work’s sake…and Adderall helps you do that like nothing else. Much better to constantly face up to that void feeling when you detect it, instead of just masking over it with work and Adderall or escaping it with other drugs/alcohol.

    Strong faith/relationship with your deity of choice will definitely make quitting a thousand times easier on you.

    Keep us updated on your progress!

  3. Anonymous says:

    Thanks for your post Mike:) … Amen Heather!
    By His stripes we are healed! Choose to trust in Jesus and then follow HIM. Once you do, you’ll never want to look back. His love is that amazing <3
    Trust me, I took the adderall for years too… God changed my life.
    Giving my life to the only one who makes the moon reflect the sun, that was His design. Giving my life to the only son who was and is and is to come, one starry night, He changed my life!
    One day every knee shall bow & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord:) my day has already come bc He's revealed it to me. He delivered me from the bondage and set the captive free!!
    Sending love from my home to yours:). God bless

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