ONALD BRIDGE, IN HIS BOOK WHEN CHRISTIANS DOUBT,¹ describes three characteristics of modern counterfeits to biblical faith:

First, faith has become a technique.² This type of faith is nothing more than a Christianized form of magic, “the art that purports to control or forecast natural events, effects, or forces by invoking the supernatural. . . . The practice of using charms, spells, or rituals to attempt to produce supernatural effects or to control events in nature.”³

A popular charismatic preacher, Kenneth Hagin, asks, “Did you ever stop to think about having faith in your own faith? Evidently God had faith in His faith, because He spoke words of faith and they came to pass. . . . In other words, having faith in your words is having faith in your faith. That’s what you’ve got to learn to do to get things from God: Have faith in your faith.”⁴

The parallels between Hagin’s understanding of faith and magic are obvious. The phrase “faith in faith” gives the game away. By saying the right words, by following the right ritual, a person can supposedly master God and have anything they desire.

Second, faith has become a rival to God’s will.⁵ Bridge quotes one Christian writer who asks, “Would it shock you to learn that God’s healing power is available through your own mind and you can trigger it by faith?” If you had direct access to your unconscious mind, you could command any disease to be healed in a flash. Jesus obviously had access to it, for He produced command healings.”⁶ This attitude, in fact, is a far cry from the attitude of Him who, in His most trying hour, cried out to God, “Thy will be done!”⁷

Third, faith has become presumption, “the bold arrogance of the religious charlatan. This person brashly intrudes himself where he does not belong, presumes liberties which are not his and knowledge which he does not possess.”⁸

Donald Bridge powerfully makes the same point when he says that “God is not a fairy godmother waiting in the wings to countersign every bright idea. He has a will of his own. He is Lord.”⁹ The way some people speak of faith, one gets the impression that they are lord rather than God’s being Lord! Many presume on God’s grace, thinking God is there to jump to their commands, behaving rashly in their relationship to God. As Ellen White once wrote: “There are many who fail to distinguish between the rashness of presumption and the intelligent confidence of faith.”¹⁰

Dangerous Consequences
Dangerous consequences result from these distortions of faith.

1. They inevitably disappoint. The fact is that what God does is dependent on God’s will, not ours. There will always be prayers that God chooses to answer in ways we do not expect. For everyone who claims a “miracle,” there are thousands more who continue to suffer and die despite their prayers for a similar miracle. To expect that God will jump to our every wish inevitably leads to disappointment because of unrealistic expectations of God.

2. These distortions of faith lead, ironically, to a loss of faith. There are many stories of people who have developed expectations that God always heals, always provides wealth, always intervenes to their benefit. When these things fail to happen, they reject God. When people consistently hear positive testimonies of God’s working “miracles” in other people’s lives, is it any wonder that they become cynical and disillusioned when God doesn’t answer their prayers the way they expect? These people start asking such questions as: Why does God find someone a parking space in a busy shopping center but let a baby die at birth? Why does God heal a person’s back but let hundreds of thousands of children die of starvation in developing countries? Why doesn’t God heal my cancer when He heals someone else of a minor disorder?

While exaggerated claims about God’s intervention are made, there will always be those who despair and give up faith because of failed expectations. The only way to be secure in our faith is to have a realistic picture of God and His relationship to us, based on Scripture.

An Instructive Example
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as they are confronted with death in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, provides an example of true faith. We can learn a number of things from their experience. Their speech before being cast into the furnace is a model of the true attitude of faith. Here it is: “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, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” (Dan. 3:16-18).*

In the first place, the three Hebrews believed that God had the power to save them if He wanted to. They did not serve a weak god, helpless in the face of suffering. They were completely confident that if God wished to do so, He could rescue them.

Second, the three recognized the possibility that God may choose not to save them. They knew that God is sovereign and knows what’s best. They were willing to let God be God, to let God have the final word.

Third, they committed themselves to faithfulness to God no matter what the consequences. Even though they believed that God could rescue them, they recognized He may not. But even if God didn’t rescue, they would absolutely refuse to bow.

The lesson is that whatever happens, the Christian makes a commitment to remain faithful to God. This is the essence of faith. Even a cursory reading of Hebrews 11, in which the author describes the heroes of faith during the history of God’s people, teaches us that faith is about remaining true to God, even if we don’t receive the promises of God in this life.

A faith based on such principles is strong and will remain firm, even when buffeted by strong winds.

Three Times No
Those who rely on miracles for their confidence in God will surely lose what confidence they have—for no one can demand that God act in a particular way. Like Jesus, in Gethsemane before His trial and crucifixion, we need to end all our requests that God remove the bitter cup with a “thy will be done” (Matt. 26:42, KJV).

Paul’s experience with his “thorn in the flesh” provides an example of a faith similar to that of the three Hebrews—but with a different outcome (2 Cor. 12:7, KJV). Whereas the three exiles were rescued from the fiery furnace, Paul’s repeated prayers for healing were not answered the way he wished. Here is how Paul describes his experience of suffering: “To keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

No one really knows what was Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” It’s clear, though, that it was permanent enough and serious enough for him to pray three times for its removal. And it’s equally clear that the Lord chose not to remove it. Instead, Paul is promised that he will have sufficient grace to live with it.

A number of very important understandings about suffering, healing, and faith emerge from this experience:

First, Christians are not exempted from suffering. One of the greatest Christians of all time, Paul suffered not only from this “thorn,” but he also suffered “insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” (2 Cor. 12:10). Any “gospel” that claims that Christians can be free of all disease, all hardship, all suffering is unbiblical.

Second, we can speak to God about anything. Even a brief reading of the Psalms reveals God’s people crying out to Him from within their suffering and pain or singing about their joys and celebrations.

Third, God is able to heal. The occurrence of genuine miracles throughout history also testifies to the power of God over all of nature, including disease and suffering. He is sovereign over all. And the resurrection of Jesus provides evidence that God’s promises of a future perfect world without suffering will be fulfilled.

Fourth, although God is able to heal miraculously, He usually chooses not to. This is also clear from history. Miracles are the exception rather than the rule. It is not as though God doesn’t care, or that He makes arbitrary decisions about whom to heal or not to. God does, however, see the bigger picture. He promises that in the end all things will work out for the best. Sometimes God heals, when that is for the best.

Fifth, even if God does not miraculously heal, He promises to be with us in our suffering. Jesus promises His grace in our weakness. It’s in our weakness that God shows Himself strong. It’s in our weakness that He is most glorified. Some believe that God is glorified only in the miraculous, the successful, the healthy, the rich. But the greatest glory is evident in weakness—the “weakness” of the cross of Jesus, for example, a “weakness” that overcame sin and death. The central truth of the gospel is the paradox of strength in weakness. The greatest truth we can learn when we suffer is that God is with us in our suffering, empowering us to persevere and to provide reassurance and peace as we trust Him to do what’s best.

How It All Ends
Trust in an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God brings contentment. The Christian’s privilege is to rest in faith, not restlessly to pursue miracles at all costs. As in the case of the three Hebrews, our part is to remain faithful whatever the circumstances.

So the biblical view of faith is very different from the health-and-wealth gospel of today, with its alluring package that promises anything you want, when you want it. The end result is that many lose their faith in the wake of failed expectations.

The Bible offers us the promise of the presence of God in all our circumstances. God is sovereign and will do what’s best for us, however we may feel about Him. In whatever circumstances we find ourselves, God’s grace is all we need. The promise is that one day all suffering will be stamped out, all tears will be wiped away. And there will be no more death, no more disease, no more pain. By faith we look forward to that day, strong in the Lord and mighty in His strength.

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*All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.
 ¹ D. Bridge, When Christians Doubt (MARC, 1987).
 ² Ibid., p. 83.
 ³ W. Morris, ed., “Magic,” The Heritage Illustrated Dictionary of the English Language (American Heritage Pub. Co./Houghton Mifflin Co., 1973).
 ⁴ K. Hagin, Having Faith in Your Faith (Tulsa, Okla.: Faith Library, 1980), pp. 4, 5, quoted in D. McConnell, The Promise of Health and Wealth: A Historical and Biblical Analysis of the Modern Faith Movement (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1990), p. 134.
 ⁵ Bridge, p. 83.
 ⁶ C. S. Lovett, “The Medicine of Your Mind,” Newsletter, August 1979. Quoted in Bridge, p. 54.
 ⁷ See Bridge, p. 83.
 ⁸ R. S. Taylor, “Presumption,” Beacon Dictionary of Theology (Kansas City, Mo.: Beacon Hill Press, 1983), p. 415.
 ⁹ Bridge, p. 86.
¹⁰ Ellen G. White, “The Temptation of Christ,” Review and Herald, Apr. 1, 1875.

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Stephen J. Parker teaches critical thinking, research, ethics, and interpersonal skills at Flinders University in Australia. He enjoys life with his wife, Angie, and two children, Ashleigh and Emma.