“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…” Daniel 3:17-18
Biblical faith never says, “It has to be this way.” Faith submits to the sovereignty of God. Faith uses its freedom to ask, but it always places its request under the sovereignty of God.
A great model of this is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were thrown in the fiery furnace because they would not bow down to the king’s idols. They said, “Our God is able to save us from the fire, but even if he does not, we will not bow down to your image.” They factored in the ability of God, and they submitted to the sovereignty of God.
That is the difference between biblical faith and positive thinking. Positive thinking is all about mind over matter. The power comes from inside me. I make the change. But biblical faith is about the power of God over matter. The power comes from God. God makes the change.
How can you tell the difference between positive thinking and biblical faith? Just ask the question: Who is ultimately in control here? If the answer is: “I am!” then you know that you are in the realm of positive thinking, not biblical faith.
If someone says, “The reason you were not healed is that you did not have enough faith,” he (or she) is really saying, “It all comes down to you.” That’s positive thinking.
Biblical faith factors in the ability of God for whom all things are possible, but at the same time submits to the sovereignty of God who does whatever he pleases.
Will you pray today with biblical faith, while submitting to the sovereignty of God?