Faith is defined in the Bible as the substance of things hoped for， the evidence of things not seen. You and I could not live without faith， without putting our trust in something for which we have no proof. Most often we talk about faith in terms of religious beliefs， but there are many other types of faith that are part of each day. As a Christian， I live according to my belief in God. Even though I can’t see Him or touch Him， I know in my heart that He exists， and I put my future in His hands. I don‘t know what tomorrow holds， but because I believe in Him， I know who holds tomorrow.
That is one form of faith. I have faith in many areas of my life. I accept that there are certain elements I can’t see， touch， or feel， but I believe in them anyway. I trust that oxygen exists， and I trust that science is correct in saying that we need it to survive. I can‘t see， touch， or feel oxygen. I just know it is there because I am here. If I am alive， then I must be breathing it， so oxygen must exist， right？
Just as we must have oxygen to live， we must trust in certain unseen realities to survive. Why？ Because we all face challenges. You have them. I have them. There simply are times in our lives when we can’t see a way out， and that is where faith comes in.
I received an e-mail recently from a woman named Katie who had been laid off from her job because of her medical problems， which have included nearly twenty surgeries. She‘d been born without a femur bone in one leg， which had to be amputated when she was a toddler. Now in her thirties and married， Katie told me she often struggled with the “Why me？” question.
After watching one of my videos， Katie realized that sometimes we just cannot know “Why me？” We must trust that God’s plan for us will be revealed in time. Until then we must walk in faith.
“I thank you with all my heart. I now believe that I， like you， am God‘s chosen one，” she wrote. “One day I hope I’ll have the honor of meeting you in person to wrap my arms around， hug， and thank you for helping me open my eyes to see the light.”
Katie found strength and hope only after she decided to trust in what she could not see or understand. That‘s exactly how faith works. You will encounter challenges that initially seem insurmountable. While we wait for a solution， faith may be all we have to hang on to， and sometimes simply trusting that there will be an answer will get you through those darkest moments.
That is why I talk about FAITH as an acronym： Full Assurance In The Heart. I may not be able to produce evidence for all that I believe in， but I feel fully assured in my heart that I am much closer to the truth by living with faith than I would be by living in despair. When I talk to thousands of schoolchildren each year， I often explore the notion of trusting in what we can’t see. （Sometimes the little ones are a bit frightened of me at first. I don‘t know why because we’re always about the same height. I tell them I‘m small for my age.）
I joke with them until they feel comfortable with me. Once they’re accustomed to my lack of limbs， I find most kids are fascinated by my little left foot. I‘ll see them pointing or staring， so I wave it at them and make a joke about “my little chicken drumstick.” That always gets a laugh because the description is quite accurate.
My sister， Michelle， who is six years younger than me， was the first to make that observation. With our brother， Aaron， and our parents， we often traveled on long family trips in which we three kids were packed like cordwood in the backseat of the car. Like most dads， ours didn’t like to stop once we hit the road. When we grew hungry， we‘d drop big hints to my dad and mum.
When we were absolutely famished， we’d go a little crazy and pretend to take bites out of each other. On one trip Michelle announced that she intended to chew on my little left foot “because it looks just like a chicken drumstick.” We laughed about it， but I forgot about her description. Then a few years ago， Michelle brought home a puppy. The little pup tried to chew on my foot whenever I sat down. I‘d nudge him away， but he kept coming back to gnaw on it.
“See， it still looks like a chicken drumstick even to my puppy！” Michelle said.
I loved it！ Ever since then， I’ve told that story in my speeches to schoolchildren. But once I introduce my left foot， I ask kids if they think I have just one foot. This question always throws them for a loop because they can see only one foot， but it would make sense for me to have two.
Most kids go with what they can see. They usually tell me they think I have just one foot. I then produce for them Junior， my even smaller right foot， which I normally keep tucked in. Sometimes I shock them by sticking out my right foot and wiggling it. They usually shriek and scream. It‘s funny because kids are so straightforward. They admit that they have to see it to believe it.
I then encourage them， just as I now encourage you， to trust that there are possibilities for your life. The key to moving forward， even in hard times， is to let your vision for your life be guided not by what you can see but by what you can imagine. That’s called having faith.
TRUST IN FlIGHT
My imagination flows through God‘s eyes. I trust Him. I have full assurance in my heart that even without arms and legs， I can build a wonderful life. In the same way， you should feel that nothing is out of your reach. Have faith that if you do everything you possibly can to achieve your dreams， your efforts will be rewarded.
Sometimes our trust is tested before our hard work pays off. I was reminded of this in 2009 while on a speaking tour of Colombia， in South America. I was booked to speak in nine cities in ten days. With so many miles to cover in such a limited amount of time， the tour booker chartered a small airplane to take us from town to town. There were eight of us on the flights， including our two pilots， both of whom were named Miguel and neither of whom spoke much English. During one of the flights， everyone in the passenger cabin was startled to hear the plane’s computer call out an automated warning： “Pull up， pull up！” The alert was in English！