This is a translation of a scriptural meditation from the Russian book, “Day by Day”. Lewis connection follows:
"Scripture: ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ (Matt: 14, 31)
"Meditation:
"Why did you doubt, that is, don’t you know that faith is life? Only by faith can you conquer the world and yourself; everything in yourself that is good, sincere and strong flows from it. Without faith a person is powerless, and then he falls. Have you forgotten that faith is stronger than reason, stronger than qualms of conscience and intellectual doubts, stronger than desires of the heart, stronger than everything? Why did you doubt? Why did you give up your former, simple, blessed faith, that inspired you to say: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”, the true faith of the happy days of your youth, that faith which illuminated the best moments of your life?
"And truly, why do we not believe? Is it because contemporary science does not agree in everything with faith? Or is it because that blinded by self-delusion, we consider our weak reason to be capable of understanding and measuring the depth of God’s designs, and have been deceived in our insane hopes? O, you of little faith, Christ says to Peter, why did you doubt? Why did you yourself lay the basis for your fall, so deplorable and shameful? Why did you forget about the almighty power of My word and turn your gaze from Me?
"Nevertheless, be grateful to God, for even a small faith is, after all, faith, and even the smallest part of it is, nevertheless, stronger then waves of the sea, stronger than the devil and his angels. In the hour of danger you nevertheless turned to Christ. Your broken heart put your last hope in Him, and you turned your imploring gaze to Him. So praise God, since your faith has saved you!
The Lewis connection that comes to mind is when, after Joy’s death, in “A Grief Observed”, he initially rails against God, doubting God’s goodness because of the great pain he felt. But toward the end of that diary he does feel God’s “silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze”, saying to him, “Peace, child, you don’t understand”.
Dimitry
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)