GEN1141 Religious people of all times unite in their testimony that the practice of the Divine presence brings not only peace to the heart and mind but also renewed strength. Fear often issues from weakness and lack of self-confidence. Faith is a measure of energy and of self-assurance in the face of peril. Confident that God is on their side, the weakest of men have felt as mighty hosts. Like Elisha’s servant, they see the forces of Heaven ever on their side (II Kings 6-15 ff.). Experiencing an inrushing of power, they readily go forth to battle in behalf of righteous causes. “They that wait for the Lord renew their strength; they mount up with wings as eagles” (Isaiah 40:29 – 31). The history of the Jews and the record of religious martyrs everywhere bear eloquent proof of the genuineness of this conviction. Often combating the pressure of public opinion and the intellectual and moral standards of the whole world, these stiff-necked people displayed a fortitude unknown to the rest of men. The faith which they held so intensely enabled them to see through the inmost nature of things, and to vision the highest goals. “In the mountain of the Lord it is seen” [this verse].  The darkness is lifted, and where chaos and bewildering confusion reigned, the eye of the soul beholds the creative forces of God shaping worlds of harmony. The disordered fragments of existence begin to fit into patterns of meaning and purpose. Religion reveals things both sub specie temporis and sub specie aeternitatis. It makes us see life steadily and see it whole.   COHON  46-7