If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,” they said, “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, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up(Daniel 3:17-18).

Above is either side of the one coin of faith. You cannot have one without the other. If your faith relies on a positive outcome then what you have is positive thinking but it’s not faith. If on the other hand you have counted the cost and are willing to praise God no matter what comes your way, you have found true faith. Everything must be unconditional, including our faith. You see, many people have faith in faith. Lets just replace the word faith with trust. Would it make sense to have trust in trust? You just have to exercise your trust? Faith, we are told in Hebrews 11, is the evidence of things not seen. To believe in something that you cannot see is the essence of trust. Without this kind of trust it is impossible to please God. How do we please God? By trusting in Him.

You see it is easy to trust in the Lord when everything is going our way, when all is right with the world. Yet when we are suddenly caught up in darkness and we cannot see the way ahead, this is when the flesh is put upon the bones of what we have confessed. The word becomes flesh as we raise our hand to God in the darkness and seek to grasp His. Our Father is a rewarder of those who diligently trust Him in the darkness. This is faith-Even if He slays me, yet shall I trust Him. Consider Jobs words and actions right after he learns that he has lost everything and that all his children are dead. Remember, the accuser of the brethren had said that he would curse God. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.(Job 1:20-22)

Enoch was a man who was considered to have great trust in the Lord. All we really know about him is that he pleased God. And if we cannot trust God it is impossible to please God. We also know this about Enoch “Enoch walked with God.” (Gen 5:22) So, how do we follow God in a way that pleases Him? Walk with him and trust Him, especially in the darkness. There must be more you might think. There is not. For those who walk with Him and talk with Him daily and trust Him in all things despite not knowing the outcome are obedient to Him. When someone says to you in a dire situation “just trust me.” They are asking you to follow their lead and do what they tell you to do. Follow Jesus and do what He tells you to do. Trust Him and you will have the pleasure of the King.