There were once three men who were officials in the court of a very powerful king. These men were well respected and considered to be wise among their peers.
One day, the king decided to make a massive golden statue of himself and he wanted everyone to bow down to it and worship him. To add some motivation, he decreed that anyone who did not do so would be thrown alive into a burning furnace.
The three men, however, believed in God and knew that they should not worship anything but Him. So, when the time came to bow down, they refused.
The angry king questioned them: “You do know, don’t you, that if you refuse to bow down, I’m going to have you thrown into the fiery furnace. You will die!”
One of the men spoke up: “We know that you will throw us into the fire. And we know that our God is able to deliver us from that death. But if not, even then, we will not worship your golden statue.”
You might recognize this story from Daniel chapter three about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and if so, you probably know the ending. The king had the furnace heated seven times hotter, and the men were thrown into the fire. But then he could see them all walking around in the furnace, along with a fourth person, who he described as “the son of God.” He commanded them to come out and he discovered that no part of their bodies or clothing was burned. They didn’t even smell like smoke!
Then King Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” (Daniel 3:28), and he promoted the three men (Daniel 3:30).
That has been a favorite Bible story of Christians for centuries, but the part of this account that I find especially powerful is the phrase but if not (Daniel 3:18).
We often lack that absolute trust in God. We expect a lot from Him, and of course we should call on Him and place our trust in His promises in the Bible. And when we ask God to do things, we often do see the answers to our prayers in the way we hope for. But our faith should not depend on whether He does what we think He should. We don’t see the bigger picture.
But if not…
We can tend to put God in a box and then convince ourselves that He’s not going to do anything that would disrupt our plans. It’s as if God were our personal magician, there to make lovely things happen for us and then go back to wherever He lives. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to burn to death if God chose not to save them, accepting that that was God’s will! They knew that God could save them, He could deliver them from being burned alive, but their faith wasn’t dependent on God doing that. Their faith was in Him alone, regardless of the circumstances or outcome.
That’s what true faith is. We know from the truth of the Bible that God wants to heal us, supply our needs, and give us a full and abundant life. And many times, He’ll do just that, and we can count our blessings.
But if not, He is still God, and He has a reason for everything. Trust that He does all things well.