DO YOU HAVE even-if faith? Sometimes our faith is conditional, based only on what God can do for us. We have faith in Him as long as He answers our prayers and does everything for us. But that’s shortsighted. In Daniel chapter 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith that went beyond that. With complete confidence in God, they said, “We know He’s able, but even if, for some reason, He doesn’t save us, we know He’s still God.” That’s even-if faith.
During that time, on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a gold statue 90 feet tall and 90 feet wide (see Daniel 3:1–18). He then issued a decree that everyone should bow down and worship the statue at the sound of music. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to comply and were brought before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” (Dan. 3:15 NLT).
The young men replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (vv. 16–18 NLT).
We are not responsible for the secret things.
In Mark 11:22, Jesus tells us to “Have faith in God.” Even-if faith declares, “I know You can do things, God, but that’s not where my faith is. My faith isn’t in what You’re able to do; my faith is in You because You are God.” How do we obtain the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego kind of faith? To have that kind of faith, we will need to establish certain things.
NUMBER ONE: Know That God Always Hears You When You Pray.
God says in Jeremiah 29:12, “When you call on me and come to me in prayer, I will listen to your every word” (TPT). That’s a promise. “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles” (Ps. 34:17 NLT).
First Peter 3:12 affirms, “For the eyes of the Lord Yahweh rest upon the godly, and his heart responds to their prayers” (TPT). Many other scriptures tell us that God hears us when we cry out, pray, and seek Him. One thing we can be fully confident in is that God always hears His people when they pray.
NUMBER TWO: Know That We Win in Christ Jesus.
Those who have read the entire Bible know the end of the story: We win in Christ Jesus! “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”
(1 Cor. 15:57 NKJV). Nothing can separate us from Christ’s love
(Rom. 8:35–37). Despite trouble, calamity, persecution, hunger, or danger, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loves us.
NUMBER THREE: Be Convinced That God Is Good.
Notice that we have a beginning to our journey of faith: God hears us when we pray. We also have an ending: We win! But there is a middle where we can get tripped up. The messy middle can be the point at which we start to question our faith. It may seem as if God isn’t answering our prayers. What do we do? We have to believe that God is good.
MATTHEW7:7–11(NLT)
7 Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?
10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!
11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
I love how it likens this to natural parents. Let’s say you’re making dinner and your son comes in and says, “I’m so hungry. When’s dinner going to be ready?” You reply, “Well, it’s going to be ready in about 30 minutes. Just be patient.” In response, he starts rolling on the floor, saying, “I want candy. I need food.” Not trying to be mean, you keep telling him to be patient. As a parent, you want good things for your child. You’re not trying to deny him. Instead, you’re explaining that he has to wait a bit longer.
Delay is not denial. When something doesn’t happen right away, in the timing we want, we assume it’s a denial. But God says, “Be patient because I have your best interests in mind.” James 1:2–4 says, “Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure” (VOICE).
Along the way, there will be things we don’t understand. Deuteronomy 29:29 teaches us that “the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us” (NKJV). If God told us everything He knows about every situation, we couldn’t handle it. But the things revealed to us are what we need to focus on. We are not responsible for the secret things, the why. They don’t belong to us. We have to leave that alone.
Somewhere along your faith journey, you’re going to come to a crossroads where you will have an even-if moment that requires you to decide, “Am I going to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?”
Choose to believe God, period. When you believe that God is good and wants the best for you, you can have even-if faith.
Author
Denise Hagin Burns
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