Radical Faith

The apostle Paul wrote, "The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavly kingdom.  To him be glory for ever and ever.  Amen" (2 Tim 4:18).  He shares this promise to encourage those going through adversity that God is faithful.  As we face circumstances, which challenge our faith, we can persevere, knowing God will be what he has always been: Faithful.

As you read these words you may be countering,  But I prayed to God to save my marriage and today I'm divorced, denied custody of my kids and barely able to meet my bills while paying alimony and child support.  I asked God to save my job and was laid off, nonetheless - I'm getting to the end of my unemployment benefit with no job in sight.  My husband died anyway, my child is still lost, my disease is still progressing...  How am I to believe, how am I to trust, how am I to remain faithful?

Radical faith!  That is the only way to face the worst Satan has to throw at us.  When everything is going your way, it takes little to have faith.  When things go south, it takes much more faith to face the circumstances and consequences.  But when things drop off the map - it takes radical faith.

Let me share with you a radical faith statement from the pages of the Bible: 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. 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 3:17-18).  That is radical!  We are going to obediently trust in God, even if he does not deliver us from the fire.

Really?  We are expected to trust in God's power to save, even when all evidence an current reality screams that we have lost, that we are defeated, that there is no hope?  Precisely.  Just as Jesus claimed victory from a Cross, which appeared to be his defeat.  The apostle Paul, by the way, did not make the claim of God's power to rescue from a position of perpetual ease.  Quite the opposite he proclaimed, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed..." (2 Cor 4:8-9).  

Paul's faith was nourished rather than extinguished in hard times because he did not focused "on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (v. 18).  That is the very reason Paul could be "content in all circumstances" (Phil 4:12) - his radical faith informed him that he "could do all things through [Christ] who gives [him] strength" (v. 13).

Victory of defeat is not determined by whether one gets everything for which they ask.  It is determined by whether kingdom life is gained or not - both in this world and the world to come.  Answered prayer is not just given in the affirmative, it is sometimes "no."  God is working out bigger things than just what we see.  And, his timing is not tied to ours.  Paul's encouragement is not based on knowing what the future holds but rather Who holds the future.  He's got the whole world in his hands, even yours, even now, even in the middle of your storm.  Be radical, keep the faith even when you can't see the outcome.  Jus' Say'n.