The reason I hold fast to my faith is because I believe the real power behind miracles, healing, and true happiness is Jesus Christ and his atonement, and that the reason for being on this earth is to learn, grow, be tried, tested, taught and changed into someone who will be fit for His Kingdom in Heaven. With that as the overarching purpose, our daily struggles make more sense, and the more we learn, the more we discover that while pain may be inevitable, suffering is optional.

As we learn and apply scripturally sound principles, we can gain greater access to this power of healing and gift of peace. His blessings are predicated upon our obedience to the laws that govern His universe. We can learn obedience to law, practice it, and experience the rewards for it, even if we don’t understand exactly what it is or from where the rewards come.

Consider a Light Switch

For example, I don’t understand the electrical workings behind the wall of the light switch I flip, but I know that if I flip it, the light will turn on. I don’t know who manufactured the wires and connectors, or who placed them properly behind the sheetrock that make lighting my room possible, but I still use them effectively all the time.

It’s the same with success principles. Believers and non-believers alike use them every day, and experience their power. But if you also have an understanding of the workings behind the scenes, it can be easier to realize every advantage the system has to offer.

How I Apply Success Principles to my Faith Practice

I cannot achieve seemingly impossible goals without faith, and I cannot achieve the ultimate goal of eternal life with God without faith. In practicing faith in the little things, I gain experience and understanding that helps me understand how to apply faith in the Ultimate Thing.

A “Type” or “Shadow” (symbol) of Christ

When my children are old enough, I explain that we keep Santa alive so young children can practice believing in something they cannot see. It builds the faith muscle. It teaches them to love something they cannot hold, and to trust something about which they have only scant evidence. In practicing faith in Santa, they gain experience, understanding, and even neural-pathways that help them understand how to apply a more mature faith in Jesus Christ.

(I also tell them that as long as they keep believing, Santa will keep coming, so if you ask them if they believe, they will always say yes. Even into their adulthood. We can choose to believe.)

In essence, Santa is a “type” (or symbol) that points our minds to Christ.

The Principles are also a “Type” (or symbol) of Christ

Like Santa, water, Moses, or the serpent on his staff, even the principles of success may be considered a “type” of Christ. Something that teaches us about his power and divinity. The principles are not our savior, just as Moses is not our savior.

But as I’ve said before, the principles are dependable and sure. They bring peace of mind. They increase our capacity for happiness. They turn disaster into good fortune, and heartache into healing. They are constant and reliable. Like Christ.

So as we go through these lessons, keep that in mind. Does your learning about the principles cause you to think more of him, and develop a deeper relationship with him as I believe they can? Or do they make you think you don’t need him at all because you’ve discovered a power “within yourself” to make just about anything happen that you need? Be careful.

Where some may see the principles as a replacement for Christ, I think it is wise to view them as a “type” or symbol that helps us learn more about him, His universe, and his power. Let this knowledge increase your faith in him. He is the Source of the light and power you want in your life.

I’ve always tried to keep my studies of the success principles inside the context of eternal, spiritual truths. I strive to always remember that Christ is at the center, and I remind myself that no earthly success could ever compensate for what would be lost by forgetting him. I believe that true happiness, the kind that lasts forever, cannot be achieved in any other way.

How it’s done

To achieve seemingly impossible goals or experience miracles when we need them, we must first imagine how it will feel to experience the success we seek. If we can see it in our mind, and feel it as though it is accomplished, then something in the world around us shifts, and all things combine to help us achieve it.

But we must test it, and prove it to ourselves. By doing this, we build the faith muscle until faith is replaced with knowledge.

The same goes with the ultimate goal of eternal life with God. I never thought of it before studying success principles, but I am convinced that achieving that Ultimate Goal must also begin with imagining how IT will feel.

So it should make us wonder: What would it be like?

Imagine meeting your Maker and hearing him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

What would that feel like? Can you imagine it?

If you can, and if you let yourself FEEL it, I’m convinced that you will shift something in the world around you, and his holy angels will be dispatched to strengthen you as needed to help you achieve it. The resources you need to do his will, will also be there when you need them.

If you allow yourself to imagine and feel that victorious day, the inspiration you need for overcoming the obstacles becomes easier to detect. The tenacity you need to endure faithfully to the end becomes a more instinctive part of you. You begin to love and serve as Christ did. You become the kind of person who would feel comfortable in the presence of God.

Jesus taught us by his example to believe in the impossible. He turned water into wine. He fed the five thousand with just a few loaves and fishes. He healed the sick. And it wasn’t just for show—it wasn’t just to impress us. It was to show us what faith can do.

It was also to show us what man can do:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.” (John 14:12)

When Peter tried to walk on the water but was overcome by fear and began to sink, Jesus caught him and asked, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:28)

We practice faith in our daily challenges, so that one day we may have enough faith to believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in spite of how terribly short we fall in our life’s performance. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

Talk about believing in the impossible.

So if we struggle to believe that faith can help us pay our $200 bill, where will we find the faith to believe that Jesus can save us in the kingdom of heaven after we messed up so often and so badly throughout our life? A price far greater than a measly $200.

The good news of the gospel is that He provided a way. Truly, if the dream (faith) is big enough, then the facts (even our worst sins) don’t have to count.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

As we practice faith, optimism, hope, and belief, relying on the Lord for our daily bread, and acknowledge God’s hand in all things, we develop that muscle of faith, and our confidence grows in our ability to rely on him also for the saving of our very soul.

Faith is a muscle that is strengthened with practice, but it can also atrophy when neglected. It must continually be exercised. So thank heavens if you have a daily struggle of some kind. You get to have lots of practice exercising faith, and it very well may become your salvation. You can’t get to heaven without a strong faith muscle.

So practice the principles of success—faith, hope, optimism, eager anticipation—and always believing that something wonderful is about to happen!

If you are comfortable, set goals that stretch you. Keep your heart and desires centered in Christ, and always give thanks for that which you receive—the good and the bad.

And never lose sight of the ultimate goal—returning to your Father in Heaven in a joyful, victorious reunion.

So think on it. Imagine it. Honor Christ by longing for it (after what he went through, it’s the least we can do), and then take whatever next step comes to mind for putting your life on to the strait and narrow path toward it.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

The Mechanics of a Miracle

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