As a toddler, my oldest loved trying out new words. I remember her sitting at the table, eating her breakfast. The microwave buzzer signaled; my hot tea was ready for its daily job, to wake me. She tried to pronounce the word, and while I do not remember her exact attempt, I vividly remember the next few seconds.
“Honey, the word is microwave. Say micro.”
She repeated successfully.
Then I added the word, “wave”.
She smiled so big, picked up her little arm and waved with great vigor!
That memory has been precious to me for almost 30 years! I can still see her little expression of triumph.
Microwaving Our Faith
Living in a remote-controlled world, we can easily be influenced, thinking that we can push a button. Zap our trials will be done. In addition, our mindset is often that we can microwave our faith, warming it up when hard times are upon us.
When storms come crashing in, we wish we had a “faith like Daniel”. A faith that knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has our back. We desire assurance that God will tame our lions in the dark dens or stand in the fires like He did with Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendnego.
Misconceptions
Perhaps, our faith has not developed like Daniel and his friends for a couple of reasons.
- Are we expecting a Daniel-like faith without even being plugged into God’s word, as if the microwave would even work without its source of energy?
- Are we living a lukewarm life as a Christian while we are trying to grow our faith? Even while being held captive in a foreign land without others who believed in God, Daniel and his friends were living for God.
- Are we living for God in our ungodly world?
- Are we just luke-warm Christians, who walk in the doors of the church sporadically?
- Are we desiring to walk in God’s daily presence on Sundays during worship, but setting Him aside Monday through Saturday?
- Are we guilty of expecting God to be there for us as on demand when life gets tough?
We all know the slow-cooker would be the best means for cooking a roast, not by zapping it for a few minutes. Are we believing that God can carry us through the torrential trials, with microwave faith?
The Ah-Ha Bell Should Be Dinging
God allows trials for our dependence on Him to bloom and flourish. If the trial is over quickly, that dependency will not have time to marinate.
Faith Like Daniel’s
A Daniel-like faith takes time to develop. This faith boils when we study God’s word. Our trust in God’s abilities simmers when the difficulties in our lives do not resolve themselves by the push of a button. As we continue through the trial, our matured faith will sustain us, providing the needed courage, strength, and hope to continue
And we know that all things God works for the good of those who love him,
-Romans 8:28
who have been called according to his purpose.
Even though microwaving is a quick fix, we must still complete steps to be successful in getting that warm dish. Developing a stronger faith through trials requires taking those steps that bring us closer to God: confession, daily time in God’s word, attending church, encouraged by fellow Christians. With these strides, we can begin to develop a Daniel-like faith.