But Even If He Does Not

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made a bold statement when they told the king that God could save them, “but even if He does not,” they declared that they would continue to serve God and not the idols of this king. 

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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.” Daniel 3:16-18 (emphasis mine)

It’s easy to trust God when we get what we want. And, if we have read the end of the story, we know that God did save them. They came out of that fiery furnace without a single hair being singed. They did not know that He would do that, they simply trusted the sovereignty of the Lord and made the choice as to who they would serve. It would be easy to gloss over their story, but let’s not forget, when they made that bold statement to the king, they did not know the outcome. They simply chose to trust God with it. 

This account in scripture could leave us feeling bitter if we are struggling to trust God. Why did He save them from their circumstances and not save me from mine?

If you have lived on this earth anytime at all, I imagine you have faced a situation where you diligently prayed and asked God for something, you had the faith of a mustard seed, you asked others to pray with you and for you, you believed God, did all the right things. Yet, you did not get what you asked for. You wonder what you could have done differently to convince God to answer your prayer the way that you asked Him to. First of all, I want you to know that if you did not get what you asked for and you think it was because your faith was not strong enough, you didn’t pray enough or because you didn’t believe enough, that is a lie. Do not allow that to take root in your mind or settle into your heart. Scripture does not say that.

So why is it that sometimes God says “yes,” sometimes He says “no,” and sometimes He says “wait.” I wish I had some big profound realization to share with you. I do not. The reality is that God is God, and I am not. There have been times when I did not get what I wanted, and later, it was made very clear why, and I was so grateful that God had said no. There have been other times when He has said no, and I still do not understand why. There are plenty of scriptures that indicate possible whys; however, I will not know this side of Heaven the reason that God said no in some of these circumstances. The truth is, even if I did know why, would I be satisfied or would I offer God a million other ways that He could have achieved the same outcome without me having to face the debilitating pain that these circumstances caused?

I also know that we are not alone in our heartache. There are many instances in scripture where people suffered unjustly. Jochebed put her son, Moses, into the Nile river not knowing if he would live. He did, but she had to watch Pharaoh’s daughter raise him instead of being the one to tuck him into bed at night. Job lost everything he had. Paul suffered from a thorn in the flesh. He repeatedly asked God to remove it so that he could serve him even better. God did not. Jesus lived a perfect life, yet He suffered on the cross so that we might have eternal salvation. Mary helplessly watched His excruciating and humiliating death.

Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we each have a choice to make. Will we serve God even when He does not “save us?” Do we trust Him enough to say, “Not my will, but Yours be done?”

It isn’t a one and done decision. When life gets hard, we sometimes have to make this decision over and over again. Not understanding why is hard. While there are many events in scripture that seem almost like a fairy tale with a happy ending, not all of them are. I am grateful that God chose to put both in scripture. When I do get the happy ending, I can praise God. When I don’t get the happy ending, I can praise God, knowing that He is in control, and I can trust Him.