"So that your faith may not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power."
1 Corinthians 2:5
RECKLESS. What does that word mean to you? My dictionary app defines it as: utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless.
Synonyms in the thesaurus include: audacious, brash, daring, adventurous, and wild.
Also included are: foolhardy, hasty, ill-advised, harebrained, and kooky, to name a few.
Adventurous and wild sound fun. In terms of faith, audacious, and even brash sound, well, daring. Why not?
The second list gives me pause, though. And yet, if you can be a fool for love, why not faith? I want to be hasty to trust God, and even ill-advised – by the world's logic – as long as I’m well-advised by God. From a worldly view, harebrained and kooky may describe God's peculiar people.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light;" 1 Peter 2:9 KJV
(Who knew that I'd remember a "peculiar" verse from the good old King James Version?)
This world doesn't understand faith. It seems mindless and mapcap to those who don't know God. But those with faith know God’s miracles can truly blow your mind and make madness of human logic.
"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold."
2 Corinthians 3:12 NIV
Reckless faith prays BOLD, audacious prayers.
Lord, I thank you in advance and trust you to provide.
Lord, I believe your promise and trust you to provide.
Lord, I obey your calling and trust you to provide.
Lord, I choose stewardship over hustle and trust you to provide.
"The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
Proverbs 28:1 NIV
Faith thanks.
Faith believes.
Faith obeys.
Faith provides.
Faith heals.
"Then he said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.'"
Luke 8:48 NIV
Faith moves mountains. And faith…
Can stop the sun.
In the Bible, Joshua was fighting a battle and he needed daylight a little longer to win. If they stopped for the night, the enemy could regroup and reenergize and probably defeat them in the morning. So Joshua asked for a miracle. And he did it in front of everyone.
In a bold, audacious prayer of reckless faith, he literally asked God to STOP THE SUN.
“On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened o a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!”
Joshua 10:12-14 NIV
RECKLESS faith means rather than trusting our limited human logic, understanding, and abilities, we trust in God’s omniscience and power.
Instead of making our lives a train wreck, we WRECK LESS.
Lord, give me RECKLESS FAITH.
Faith that obeys Your calling when I don't see the way.
When I don't see provision.
When the bills are bigger than the bank account.
When the disease defies the doctor.
When relational hurts hamper healing.
When situations don't make sense.
When tragedy traumatizes.
Help me trust and obey You in RECKLESS FAITH.
"For we live by faith, not by sight."
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV