Taking Risks in Faith

As far as we know, God never talked directly to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He never told them he would rescue them from the fiery furnace. These three men knew that God could rescue them, but they had no direct promise that he would. They told king Nebuchadnezzar "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. But even if he does not, ... we want you to know that we will not serve your Gods." They weren't real sure God would rescue them, but they knew He could. And, even though God did not promise to rescue them, they took the risk in faith and were not disappointed. ^{Daniel 3}

God never told David that he would help him kill Goliath, either. When David went to visit his brothers at the battle, all the soldiers of God's people, the men older and more experienced than David, had enough practical knowledge to be scared of Goliath. When David suggested that he could kill Goliath, he was told "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy." And yet, even though the king said David would be killed, David believed that "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." God had never told David that he would deliver him, but David knew God could do it. Based on this faith, and in spite of the dire warnings from all the experienced men around him, he took the risk and faced Goliath. He was not disappointed. ^{1 Samuel 17}

And then there are the ten spies who came back from Canaan reporting to Moses that "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." God had not spoken directly to these spies, either. They could see that the inhabitants in Canaan were bigger and stronger than the Israelites. Even though these spies had witnessed the ten plagues, had passed through the Red Sea on dry land while their enemies were drowned, and were fed with mannah from heaven every day, God had not spoken directly to them saying they could conquer the Canaanites, and they did not have faith that God would deliver them. These spies persuaded all the other people of Israel not to take the risk in attacking the Canaanites, and God was disappointed. Because of their cowardice, these spies were killed in the wilderness. ^{Numbers 13}

We, too, know of the wonderful works of God, and his power to do all things. We also face challenges in our life that press us to choose between the "seen" and the "unseen", to take a risk trusting God to care for us or to follow a path that is "safer". With David and the spies, we have people of experience all around warning us to take the safe path, not to rely on what we cannot see, reminding us that God has not spoken to us directly promising his help. The choice is ours to make, but the lessons from history are clear. Those who take risks in faith are not disappointed, while the "cowardly" are the first ones thrown into the "fiery lake of burning sulfur" according to Revelation 21:8.

By the way, there were actually twelve spies who went to Canaan. Two of them had the faith to say "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." God had not spoken directly to them either, but they knew he could give them victory. In the end, after all the nay-sayers had died in the wilderness, these two spies were the only ones to reach the promised land. Like them, if we want to reach the promised land, we must be willing to trust in that which we cannot see, and to take risks based on our faith in the God who can do all things. He will not disappoint us. Restricted access