Click HERE to view Rev. Stacy’s guided meditation during the service.
SUMMARY OF MESSAGE:
This week, Rev. Stacy Macris Ros continued our three-week series, “Ignite Your Spirit,” focusing on how we can draw on our faith when life feels uncertain or a challenge seems overwhelming.
Faith is the ability to know something better is possible even before we see it take shape, and to trust, deep down, that a loving Presence is always with us. Rev. Stacy Macris Ros draws on the stories of Job and Peter to show how we can strengthen that faith and draw on it in difficult times.
Job shows how faith sustains us through hardship. After losing his family, wealth and health, Job grieves, gets angry and brings his hardest questions to God. His story reminds us that we can struggle honestly and still stay connected to Spirit. We can nurture that connection through life’s ups and downs so we have faith to draw on when we need it most.
Hardships may always defy explanation, and getting stuck on “Why?” can prolong our suffering. As we loosen our grip on the need for answers, we can stay open to wisdom, signs of divine Presence and unexpected moments of grace. Even when we can’t change our circumstances, we can choose how we respond. Faith helps us find the strength to persevere and the hope to keep going. Job’s friends also symbolize how harmful it can be to assume someone caused or deserved their suffering. Hardship can deepen our faith, expand our awareness and reveal strength we never knew we had.
Peter shows how faith develops and how we can reclaim it when it falters. In Unity, Peter represents the spiritual power of faith. His transformation from Simon — “receptive to God” — to Peter, a rock of faith, shows how that power grows.
In the middle of a storm, Peter sees Jesus walking across the water toward the disciples’ boat. He steps out to meet him and walks on water until the waves catch his attention. Fear takes over, and Peter begins to sink. A crisis can pull our attention away from our own divine nature in much the same way. When the crisis becomes all we can see, it’s easy to sink into fear. Turning our attention back to the Christ within helps us reconnect with the faith that sustains us. We can get quiet, remember that God is always present within us, and listen for that still inner voice. As we learn to trust its guidance, we can take our next step from a place of peace.
When life gets hard, Rev. Stacy invites us to pause and ask ourselves: Where am I placing my faith right now? Is my attention on what I fear or on what brings me peace? What would it look like to take my next step in faith? We are the ones who choose what guides us: “I let faith, not fear, guide me.”