That Confidence of Victory is Half the Battle

Earlier we said that life was a challenge and trial, susceptible to success or failure. Now we will examine how faith in God can lead us to a better chance of success.

As William James has argued, a mountain climber who feels assurance that he will make a leap over a long drop is much more likely to make that leap than a man determined that he will fail. A chess player who is sure in his mind of his ability will most certainly play better than one nervously preoccupied with the idea that he will lose. The same applies for football or basketball teams--confidence for these athletes is half the battle, and a team harassed by thoughts that they will lose will probably do so. Of course, James has been criticized for claiming this dynamic can actually determine whether God exists--that faith in God can actually somehow make it true that God exists, an obvious absurdity. But if we apply it merely to the terrestrial world and life, we see that faith in God is an incredible power which can help us succeed in the trial and challenge of life, whether God exists or not.

Consciousness of God and his care for us means that we do not fear anymore the random sufferings to which we are prone. No disaster will befall us without a reason and redemption; no luck of the draw will surprise us without it being the will of a God who loves us, who has a reason in mind, and allows it for our ultimate benefit. Thus we go forth into life in confidence, and this belief in God--whether God is real or not--gives us such strength and vigor, such assurance against disaster, that we benefit from the confidence, and end up more likely to prevail in the trial of life. When we do suffer, we do so with greater fortitude; where success is questionable, the faith in our ultimate victory will often tip the scales enough to our favor. Where we are afraid the thought of God is there to push us on with constant hope. Where we tremble, we trust in God, gain a surer footing, and will likely triumph.

How to deal with this world and the vast possibilities for disaster without hope in the divine? How face death--its constant possibility and eventual certainty--without any notion that there is a world after this, without any notion of a God who will send us aid? Atheism thrives in comfort and luxury; it cannot lay root in the heart of poor and miserable folk. How could they go on without the comfort and hope of God, when all is so dismal for them, and disaster is constantly hounding at their heels? But with faith in God many people will prevail in this life, and succeed in the trial that is life, with the confidence and self-assurance that comes with trust in a loving God. And the one trump card that clinches all the world’s power to make us fear--death--loses a great deal of its power to harass us, when we think of all that God has promised us.