You are already a man of faith. Faith for salvation; for prosperity; for health; and for one or another result. And we commend you for that. In fact, the bible says that it is only with faith can we please God. Nevertheless, is better to transition from faith to trust.
That special characteristic known as faith is an absolutely necessary characteristic on the journey to heaven. You see, not every believer has faith. Those are often referred to as unbelieving believers. They only believe what their eyes can see. As though they can see their brains!
And yet, they believe they have a brain. Ha! This is why you are to be congratulated for being a person of faith; if indeed you are. Still, you need to transition from faith to trust as soon as possible.
Because the bible also defines faith as the evidence of things hoped for. You are believing God for something, no doubt a phrase you have heard often. Believers are always reminding themselves what they are believing God for.
“I am believing God for a great job” someone would say. “Or I am believing God for the salvation of my children.” And therein is the rub, since it implies that if those things hoped for fail, your faith is at risk.
So, when those hoped-for things do not materialize, Christians are disillusioned. They turn their backs on God at one point or another. And that is what makes it necessary to transition from faith to trust.
The Three Hebrew Youths In Babylon
You probably know these three boys as Daniel’s friends. Together with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had been taken into slavery in Babylon. No doubt, they already had tons of faith was why they had refused to bow down to an idol.
However, when a deadly threat was attached to the decree of bowing down, they required more than faith. Anyone who did not bow was to be cast into a fiery furnace. What would a man not give to save his life?
Most people of faith would have caved at that point, perhaps planning to ask for forgiveness later. But not these boys. Their faith was undergoing a transition from faith to trust. They demonstrated an answer to Jesus’ question about what profit is there in gaining the whole world if he thereby loses his soul.
These young men knew that there is nothing to give in exchange for one’s soul and life. But you need a lot more than faith to live in that consciousness. These boys had to make the transition from faith to trust.
These Youths Underwent A Transition From Faith To Trust
No longer were they even believing God for their physical lives. Therefore, they were able to reject the King and his sin-provoking decree. They famously answered with “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.”
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Please do not think that these boys were reckless. Their next sentence revealed that they had faith to believe God for deliverance. “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. And He will deliver us from your hand, O king.”
However, from the next statement, it was obvious that something more powerful was at work. “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods. Nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Quintessential trust. For them, the transition from faith to trust was complete.
You Have To Transition From Faith To Trust
How many of us people of faith can take such a stand? I once heard a Pastor make a joke of how we would respond to the threat of death. He said that most men would bow down under the pretense of tying their shoelaces. I forget the joke he made about women.
Imagine that the Hebrew youths had not made the transition from faith to trust, they would not be our subjects today. They might have died in obscurity. Without a doubt, their lives would have been filled with ups and downs.
Which is what our lives are unless we transition from faith to trust. Whenever our hopes and expectations materialize, we rejoice. But when God chooses not to grant us those expectations, we are down. To avoid a roller-coaster Christian journey, you need to make that transition.
Trust Is Not Easy
Very few believers really know what it is to trust God. That is, to simply believe Him, not for anything, but for Himself. Can you imagine that you are Abraham? When you are one hundred years old, you have a child.
Keep in mind, this is a child for whom you had waited decades. And then, when the child is in his teens, you have to kill him. Let me confess, if that was me, we would still be at the committee stage even now. But not Abraham.
He had believed God for a son and now he had to believe Him in the child’s death. Somewhere along the line, that old man must have made the transition from faith to trust. Otherwise, he could, like me, still be in a committee meeting with God.
Little wonder he became the father of faith. He trusted God. I wonder, which of us can say we simply have faith in God? That wherever He sends, we will do; whatever He says, we will do?
Welcome to the club. It is just hard to trust for the sake of believing. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can aim to transition from faith to trust from today. Go for it. I know that I am going for trust, with the help of God and His Holy Spirit.
Maranatha!
Powerful message.