Believe to See

I was reading in Daniel 3 a few days ago about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego getting thrown into the fiery furnace because of their complete unwillingness to worship king Nebuchadnezzar’s hunk of idol junk. I’ve read this story a bunch of times, but I often miss the miracle of it…

Or at least the 3 guys’ part in the miracle.

Daniel 3:17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

They were willing to stick their neck out BEFORE they saw God work.

Maybe we see fewer miracles today because we’re unwilling to stick our butt to the fire in faith God is gonna show up…

We want a ‘sign’ or a ‘feeling’ first.
There are some things God has promised us that we’ll always be able to act and believe on…

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

So maybe our faith needs to be activated before our eyes….
We need to believe BEFORE we see,

Your thoughts?


Comments

16 responses to “Believe to See”

  1. In my scheme of thought it is not faith if I know the results. Faith moves whether it knows or not. I need to be more like S, M, & A.

  2. I believe that is part of childlike faith. Children have no problem believing things they can’t see.

    1. True. They just trust someone’s word.

  3. “They were willing to stick their neck out BEFORE they saw God work.” I think the key word in your sentence is “willing”. A willing heart means EVERYTHING when it comes to our relationship with the Lord.

    1. So true. Thanks for pointing that out!

  4. Thomas Avatar
    Thomas

    “Maybe we see fewer miracles today because we’re unwilling to stick our butt to the fire in faith God is gonna show up…”

    I like those strong words, Jonathan. Fear is such a huge component in whether I do or don’t do something. Fear is a crippler. Here’s to 2012 being a year in which I put my butt to the fire!

    1. well put man. Praying I do the same in 2012!

  5. Great post! I used to talk to teams about ‘Belief without Evidence’ meaning we have to trust the process without the evidence of results. This is different though we have the evidence found in His word, like in Daniel, yet I still wait for evidence before I take action based on belief. I need to change this. Thanks for the thoughts.

    1. Great point. I like the parallel. Thanks, Nathan!

  6. Believing before we see is really the essence of faith. Sometimes we don’t get that sign in the sky that gives us ultimate direction that this exact thing is what we’re supposed to do. That doesn’t mean we get to sit on our butts and wait for that sign. Soemtimes, we just need to stick our necks out and trust that He will show up.

    1. YES! Well stated bro.

  7. This was timely and encouraging with something I’ve been strongly compelled in my heart to follow the Lord in recently that, in faith, I’m praying/believing with all my heart the Lord will show up. It’s humbling to read about those three, oh to have their faith in such a scary situation.

    1. Yeah. Definitely something to strive for. Glad it spoke!

  8. Ellie Avatar
    Ellie

    You have inspired me to continue work on my blog on my anxiety experiences. Although I am not a professional writer, several weeks
    ago I decided to start up a WP blog dealing with the experiences I have had with my struggle with anxiety attacks. I believe this will be good therapy for me.

    Ellie

    1. Very cool. That’ll help you and others. Good stuff. Glad I could inspire you!

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