But Even If He Does Not...

Recently, I heard a Bible teacher on the radio say: “Faith does not demand a miracle.” Don’t ask me the teacher’s name, but he was talking about one of those passages in the Bible that really are seminal when dealing with trusting God. It was the moment when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were about to be thrown into the blazing furnace because of their refusal to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3: 16-18

The part that prompted the expression, “Faith does not demand a miracle” was when the young men said “But even if He does not…”

I had to get out of the car before the teacher could fully make his point, but to me, the expression means that trusting God´s promises doesn´t mean demanding the outcome we expect or want.

As I contemplate the fact that for as long as we are on this world, it is inevitable to travel through different seasons in our lives, this phrase made me think about how I live out my faith and trust in Christ. It made me ask myself: Do I demand the miracle?

I think I do…

I expect the outcome to be what I want, and I forget that God is in charge, not me. I forget that when in the midst of a season of trial, my job is to trust God´s promises, not to try to manipulate the situation so my level of comfort is unchanged. When facing the blazing furnace, my job is to remain faithful, with a heart that belongs to God and a pair of eyes that stay fixed on His presence…no matter what the outcome is…even if He does not give me the solution I want…even if I don’t get the miracle I hoped for.

I believe that is the state of true contentment: having a faith that does not demand a miracle, but a faith that expects God to be who He says He is and to do what He says He can do.