In the Mind of a Fish

Often we say, "I hope this works!" What would be more accurate in some situations would be to say, "I wish this will work!" The reason that is more accurate is that we don't really have faith that the car will start. We don't believe it will start, but we are going to put the key in and turn it anyway because we were told to try that. I believe that at that point, we have faith in the process and not faith in the car or we have no faith and are being forced to perform an action we don't really believe will result in the car starting. We are really wishing the car will start because we don't believe it will happen.

So, faith is future when we have hope that the source of our faith will come through for whatever it is we are hoping for. When we have hope for something, that means that we really have faith that that thing will come about. Faith is the expression of our future hope. All hope is future. If you already have what you are hoping for, you are not really hoping for it - it is already yours.

If we hope the car will start, then we express our hope by our exercise of faith in the car and the whole process that got the car where it is by moving from this moment in time, to the time we turn the key in the ignition.

It is natural and even spiritual, that, if we have no hope, we have no faith to express towards the thing we are wishing for. But, if we have hope, we express it by the actions that result from our faith.

Before I took the car in to the mechanic. I tried to start it, wishing it would start. I didn't believe it would, but I didn't want to take it to the mechanic. I just wanted it to start.

After I took the car to the mechanic, I tried to start it, hoping that it would start. I believed it would start because I believed the mechanic knows more about the car than I do.