So Certain in Faith
by Terry Wane Benton
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3_. Such a certainty echoes from their hearts of faith, making us examine our own level of conviction.
Here is determined faith: conviction so deep and real that nothing and no one can have power over it. That is the kind of faith we need. That is the conviction that says, “Nebuchadnezzar can control a lot of things, but he does not own me or my faith in God.”
They were three young men, but what about the rest of the Israelites? Faith in God was not so important. Do we fit more with the one who bowed to the image, or does our faith shine like theirs?
- We saw this faith in young David when no other man would bring God into their hearts and face the Philistine Giant. Only young David had faith so strong.
- Stephen, the first Christian martyr for Jesus's cause, was strongly convinced (Acts 7).
- The apostles all stood before the Jewish rulers and were willing to be beaten for Jesus (Acts 5). They thought it was a high honor to suffer shame for His name. They were so certain in their faith.
Paul, in prison in Rome, says, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1).
Our faith has a rich resource, a treasure that knows who is most important to us. Are we utilizing this same resource that they utilized? Because Paul wrote down in a few words the rich treasure of testimony (Ephesians 3:3-5), we can know what he knew and develop the same deeply convicted faith in Jesus. Therefore, we do not lose heart (Ephesians 3:17-19). We can be certain in our faith (Luke 1:1-4). We can trust God with our challenges and know that we are “more than conquerors” through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. We have the same resources to develop a rich and certain faith! Let’s keep our focus on Jesus and the prize set before us!