What Does Radical Faith Look like?

“Radical faith is developed in the valley, not on the mountaintop” ~ Unknown

Walking by faith, believing in the impossible, is not for the faint of heart. It takes radical faith to be willing to take a risk to hope for an outcome we have no evidence of it actually happening. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight for faith…” This means walking by faith is a battle. It takes fortitude to resist fear and doubt and persevere, knowing that we could be disappointed. We prefer living cautiously, safely, and would rather not allow ourselves the risk of failure. Feelings of failure and disappointment are painful.

God, However, has written the most intricate love story for our lives and He needs us to partner with Him. He needs us to be risk takers. The Bible says “it is impossible to please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6). This means we have to be willing to walk in radical obedience to faith and do what God tells us to do.

Our radical faith allows God to reveal His power, love and faithfulness.

There are times we will need radical faith because we desire something, like wanting to get married, or physical or relational healing. Other times we hear a promise from the Lord that will require radical faith to believe it will come to fruition. Praying and waiting on the Lord for an extended amount of time is not easy. To believe even though nothing seems to be shifting, can leave the strongest of us feeling weary. On top of this, it is precisely at times like this that the devil attacks-stirring up doubt and disbelief within us. Walking by faith takes strength and courage.

Years ago, my husband and I were separated and although our marital situation looked completely and utterly broken, I felt strongly that the Lord spoke to my heart that we would be reconciled. A year went by and everything felt the same-hopeless. However, I kept praying and believing that what the Lord had spoken to me was a promise from Him. To walk by faith and not by sight was not easy, and I had many days where I struggled to believe that our marriage would be restored. But guess what? God did it. He was faithful and I believe He honored my faith in Him (Psalm 18:25). My husband and I were reconciled eighteen months later.

Having radical faith requires perseverance to trust God’s timing.

In 2 Peter 3:8 the Apostle Peter tells us, “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” Patience is absolutely critical when you are walking by radical faith. Trusting that God is working behind the scenes on your behalf means also trusting in His timing. Too often our miracle is right around the corner when we give up. If you are believing and waiting on the Lord for something, I encourage you to keep pressing on and don’t give up until you have a clear answer to your prayers.

If you are in a season of having to walk by radical faith you will have to learn to pray big, bold and very specific prayers.

We serve a big God for whom nothing is too hard (Jeremiah 32:17), so don’t be timid to pray big prayers. Besides God has told us to “ask, and you will receive” (Matthew 7:7). So be sure to ask God for everything you are desiring. We can be bold and humble at the same time and have the faith to believe that God will move the mountain in front of us. It’s not easy to live by radical faith, but this is the way to receiving what we hope for.

Our Heavenly Father loves when we come to Him with our needs and wants. He delights in us having faith like children. Having childlike faith means trusting God the way children trust their parents. Their faith is completely unabandoned as they depend solely on their caretakers. They know without a shadow of doubt their parents will take care of their needs and wants. God is our “parent.” He is our caretaker and He will take care of our needs and wants.

Walking by radical faith means being so assured of God’s love that you are not afraid to ask for what you want (Matthew 7:11).

But how do we find confidence in God’s love for us? How do we believe that He wants to bless us? It’s only when we understand His nature that we can embrace His love for us. Spend quality time daily with Jesus, and get to know His character. He loves you and He delights in your relationship with Him (Romans 8:38-39).

When we are facing an impossible situation we need radical faith to believe that God will move the mountain for us. It is not easy to believe when the reality looks hopeless. May we hold on to God’s word, believing in His goodness to move on our behalf. I love how The Living Bible Translation says it-“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead” (Hebrews 11:1).

Victory comes through radical faith! 🤍🕊️🤍

Throughout Scripture God encourages us to have faith. This is because He needs us to participate with Him as He writes miraculous stories for us. When we walk by radical faith He is able to show the world that He is alive and with His children. Mark 11:23-24 is a powerful word for us: “I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” Dear friends, these are not just words to read, but rather words to take seriously because they are Holy Spirit inspired.

I need to mention that there are, however, times when we have walked by radical faith, believing God for something and it doesn’t happen. We will feel hurt, sad and disappointed. This can become a big challenge to us to ever walk in faith again. I know because my own faith was almost shipwrecked, years ago, when I once misinterpreted a message from God. I was so sure that God was going to bring restoration to a couple I was fighting for by faith, but they ended up divorced. The enemy of my soul tempted me to walk away from my faith in Jesus Christ, but I already knew God’s character and loved Him deeply.

Make sure your faith is standing on a solid foundation of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24-27).

I encourage you at times of disappointment to stay in faith. God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and we have to always continue to trust God with every outcome. He is sovereign and there will be times in life when we don’t understand Him, but we will have to keep believing in His goodness.

I encourage you to take a small step of radical faith today and begin thanking God for the blessings He has planned for you.

Tell God that you trust in His power and love for you. Tell your Heavenly Father that you believe He will move within your circumstances. Do it afraid if you have to, pushing through all doubt. God is faithful to the faithful (Psalm 18:25) and He will be faithful to you. May you have radical faith to believe this.

1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ says, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.”