“If He Does Not”

 

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up (Daniel 3:17-18).

 

Four words give us faith for the fires of life: “If He does not.” The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was firmly rooted in God’s sovereignty over all creation and His righteous care for His people in Babylonia. But if He did not choose to free them from the fire, they would not worship the golden calf of Nebuchadnezzar. The story of what happened to Daniel’s friends is a source of courage and confidence for us today. We are never left alone in our fires. The Lord is with us when we feel the blasts of difficulty and testing. He is ready to join us in the heat of life if we can say, “He can and will help me in this situation, but even if He chooses not to intervene in the way I want, I will not give up, for I am alive forever. Nothing in this life can separate me from His love.”

 

That kind of surrender of life’s pain and problems fastens the belief that we are never alone. The four words that brought the Fourth Man will release His power today. There is a wonderful breakthrough to power and peace whenever we know with assurance that no fire will have to be endured without the Lord and nothing can destroy our relationship with Him. We can have the joy of the Lord if we have an “in spite of everything” quality of faith. Our hope is not based on getting God to do what we want but in wanting Him regardless of how events work out.