Keeping faith under fire

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

~Daniel 3: 16-18

It’s easy to trust God when everything is dandy and all my ducks are neatly lined up. Those are the days I feel like I’m God’s hotstepper…everything works according to His will, and I’m perfectly in sync with Him (or maybe He’s in sync with me!). I’m untouchable, unstoppable. That’s when the spiritual matches my reality. “God is good” comes easily.

When trial comes, at first, it’s still easy to trust God. Scripture about victory over my circumstances are on the tip of my tongue and I can walk tall despite the manifestation in my reality. At first. Fast-forward to a few weeks -maybe even months- later, when said trial has dug its heels in despite my confessions of faith and expectation of victory in His name. I decide “I’m going to fast over this issue as it looks like it’s a big one”.  So, fast I do. The result? The situation becomes as bad as it could possibly get. It’s like God took a stroll with his iPod while I was fasting, and evil went to town on my life. Then trust drops to 4^th or 5^th place, overtaken by doubt, fear, a sense of helplessness…maybe even anger easily directed at God: Where is He when I need Him most?!

I am learning slowly -I really hope that this lesson is kept to nibble-sized modules!- that I have to be able to trust God’s promises, even when my reality seems to say He’s gone walkabout. It’s easier said, really, but it’s true. When I feel abandoned in the midst of suffering, does Jeremiah 31:3 speak comfort to me? When I feel like I’ve hit a dead end at full speed, does Jeremiah 29:11 speak assurance to me? When I feel threatened by my circumstances, does Isaiah 41:10 give me courage to forge ahead?

Can I trust God’s heart, even when I cannot see His hand? Do I trust him even when things do not seem to be panning out the way I hoped, even as I prayed ‘your will be done’?

When things are fine and dandy, I come to know God as my SHIELD -keeping me out of the fire.

When trials come, faced with prayer and followed by quick victory, I come to know God as my DELIVERER -saving me from the fire.

When trials come, unrelenting despite prayer, fasting, waiting on God and repeating the cycle, if I remain firmly rooted in his Word, standing on His promises, I will come to know God as my Comforter, the God who says: “When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2)

Keeping faith under fire is probably where it counts most; it is therein that I am tested and I grow. It is also a massive journey of trust. It is trusting God despite the outcome and not only for the outcome.

Advertisement

~ by Mo on May 25, 2010.