Faith Insight 14: Trusting God with the Outcome

FAITH THAT LIVES — WEEKLY INSIGHT

 Faith Insight 14: Trusting God with the Outcome

“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace... But if not... we will not serve your gods.”— Daniel 3:17–18 (ESV)

There is a point at which obedience asks an especially difficult question:

Will I still trust God if obedience does not produce the outcome I want?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced that question with their lives. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded them to bow before the golden image he had erected. If they refused, they would be thrown into a fiery furnace.

Their answer is one of the strongest statements of living faith anywhere in Scripture.

   They told the king that their God was able to deliver them.

   They believed in God's power.

But then they added three remarkable words:

   “But if not...”

Even if God did not deliver them in the way they hoped, they would not bow.

Their faith was not:

   “We know God will give us the outcome we want.”

Their faith was:

   “We know God is worthy of our trust regardless of the outcome.”

There is an enormous difference.

Sometimes we can unintentionally turn faith into a bargain with God.

   “Lord, I will trust You because I believe You will heal this illness.”

   “I will obey because I believe You will make this situation work out.”

   “I will pray because I believe You will give me what I am asking for.”

But what happens when healing does not come when we expect?

What happens when the relationship is not restored?

What happens when the opportunity disappears?

What happens when the prayer seems unanswered?

What happens when faithful obedience costs us something?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego show us a deeper kind of trust.

God is able. But even if He does not act as we desire, He is still God, and He is still worthy of our faithfulness.

This does not mean that we should stop asking God for what we desire. Scripture repeatedly invites us to pray.

We can pray boldly.

We can ask for healing.

We can ask for provision.

We can ask for deliverance.

We can pour out our hearts honestly before God.

But living faith does not make God's trustworthiness dependent upon His giving us our preferred answer.

Faith ultimately rests in who God is, not in our ability to predict what He will do.

Hebrews 11 makes this especially clear. That great chapter celebrates people who experienced extraordinary deliverance through faith. But it also remembers faithful people who suffered terribly and did not receive deliverance in this life.

Both remained within the story of faith.

That protects us from a dangerous misunderstanding:

Strong faith does not guarantee that circumstances will always turn out as we desire.

Strong faith entrusts circumstances to a faithful God.

There may come a time in every Christian life when we must place our own words beside those three words from Daniel:

   “But if not...”

God can change this situation.

God can open this door.

God can answer this prayer exactly as I hope.

   But if not, I will still trust Him.

That is not weak faith… It may be one of faith's deepest expressions.

FOR REFLECTION

Can I remain faithful if God's answer differs from the outcome I desperately want?

A PRACTICAL RESPONSE

Think about one outcome you deeply desire from God.

Tell Him honestly what you want.

Then add this prayer:

“Father, I ask You for this, but my trust is ultimately in You rather than in this particular outcome.”

Do not suppress your desire. Entrust it.

A SIMPLE PRAYER

Father, You know the answers I hope for and the outcomes I desire. I believe You are able to act, and I bring my requests honestly before You. But teach me a deeper trust that rests in Your goodness even when Your answer differs from mine. Give me grace to remain faithful because You are worthy of my trust. In Jesus' name, amen.

Next Teaching Insight: Love Is the Heart of Obedience

Adapted from themes explored in Faith That Lives by Dr. James D. Zuber.