Gregory of Nicea once called St. Basil's faith "ambidextrous" because he welcomed pleasures with the right hand and afflictions with the left, convinced that both would serve God's design for him.

-Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God

Here at the farm, we've recently been talking about doubt and how to follow God even when He seems to be absent. My input in the discussion has been sharing some of Yancey's thoughts from his writings. Though I'm not completely familiar with Yancey and don't agree with everything he says, I have the utmost respect for the way he approaches faith and how he came to that faith.

In Reaching for the Invisible God, He reminds us of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. We often merely look at the end result of the story--the 3 friends are thrown into the fiery furnace, a 4th "person" is seen in there hanging out with them, and they are miraculously saved. However, Yancey reminds us of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's response before they were even tossed to the flames:

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, 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.

The story becomes much richer when you consider the 3 friends' faith before they were even thrown into the furnace. They had faith that God could rescue them from death, but regardless of whether or not God showed up, they had made it up in their minds to follow and honor Him.

I'm reminded of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. When you read MLK's response to a group of white ministers, or even when you read or listen to most of anything else he said during this period, you can't help but acknowledge his incredible persistence. Moreover, I think of MLK's faith in a God that, on this issue, was seemingly absent for over 300 years. Though blacks in America faced slavery, racism, and second-class status, with no real answer from God, MLK and others demonstrated an unbelievable faith in God to stand up to and break unjust laws knowing what the results would be.

In light of Shadrach, MLK, and others, I have to ask myself whether or not my faith in God is ready to say 'yes' to God...even when I may be hearing nothing from Him.