Faith, Not Fear

Our best decisions always spring from faith, not fear.

Three young Hebrew men refused to worship an idol erected by a pagan despot. The furious king threatened to throw them into a blazing furnace, but they believed in two important principles: (1) God is able, and (2) God knows best.

They said, "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" (Daniel 3:17). God is able.

They continued, "But even if he does not . . . we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:18). God knows best.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire without a hair on their heads singed. But even if the fire had consumed them, they were willing to die rather than compromise their faithfulness to God.

God is able; God knows best. These two bedrock principles about our heavenly Father can help us when we pray. On the one hand, by faith we lay claim on God's omnipotence. He is all-powerful, able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20). With David we believe he can bring down giants. With Daniel we believe he can shut the mouths of lions. With Jesus we believe he can move mountains. Our Father can do things that are humanly impossible but divinely reasonable: heal the sick, multiply loaves and fish, raise the dead. When we believe in God's power to work wonders, we exercise what Philip Yancey calls "extravagant faith."

On the other hand, by faith we also lay claim on God's wisdom and omniscience. He knows best. Whether he answers prayer by saying, "Yes," "No," "Wait," or simply "I'm here," his decisions are always right. With Job we affirm, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15). With Paul we are convinced that even in times of trouble, persecution, famine, and violence, nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39). We trust God even when it's hard to understand him, for his ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8, 9). Yancey calls this kind of faith "fidelity," the committed stick-to-itiveness, the fixed loyalty, that remains tenaciously trusting no matter what hardships we endure.

On a daily basis we confront the choice between faith and fear, and the choice becomes more critical when a sudden accident or illness sends us reeling, a divisive election leaves us wondering about the future, a devastating storm leaves us to clean up the mess, or a shocking piece of bad news leaves us staggering.

The sun shines and the rain falls on the just and the unjust. We can respond, as many do, with worry and fear. Or we can respond with faith.

We can believe that God is good even when circumstances are bad. We can trust in Jesus and his promises. We can believe that our Father knows best even when it's hard to trace his hand of mercy. We can exercise both extravagant faith and unflinching fidelity, believing that God can do anything, and he will always do the right thing.

"Nothing is so much to be feared as fear," wrote Thoreau. And in this troubled world, nothing is more precious than faith.