“If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” Daniel 3:17-18 (italics mine)
It is hard to believe that I have read these two verses daily since sometime in February. Yeah…you heard correctly, every day for four months. Really, not that much time in the big scheme of things, but a significant amount of time spent on two verses.
You know the story of Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. They placed God’s authority over that of King Nebuchadnezzar and were challenged and tested. Would they really stay faithful and only worship, serve and obey their unseen God? Did they truly believe in God’s power over any other power or authority in the seen world? When challenged by the king and threatened with the blazing furnace would their faith in God remain firm and intact?
Yes, yes and yes. But why would any relatively normal person read these two verses daily for months?
But even if…
- You plan something with passion and excellence and then the number of girls attending is half what you hoped for
- What was intended as an outreach event turns into an event with all church members and no one brings a friend
- The economy is rough and giving at church is down and decisions are being made on what to keep and what to cut
- Excellent employees are losing their jobs because the budget just isn’t there and many people are facing experiences and hardships they’ve never known before
- The girl you mentored is making poor decisions and you see her pulling further away from God with every choice
- The friend you’ve shared with and prayed for says she still doesn’t know if she wants to the make a commitment to Christ
“But even if” there are days when ministry and life are not what you expected or hoped for—you still plan, prepare, minister, encourage, and remain faithful to what God has called you to do. (And you continue to read, memorize, and meditate on two verses for four months!)
Now you fill in the blank. What is your “But even if?” What are the challenges you are facing in ministry or in life?
Let’s face it…life is sometimes hard. Even those in ministry will experience days when they feel the heat of the blazing fire. Just inches away from our hearts and minds are those gold statues and false gods that threaten to overwhelm us, deceive us, tempt us and quench the Holy Spirit in our lives.
“But even if He does not rescue us…we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue…” (Dan. 3:18) So if we are going to be thrown in the fire for a period of time, today let’s face it together. Let’s commit to pray for one another and head to the furnace allowing the blazing fire to refine us—burning away the impurities as we continue to die to ourselves and become all that He created us to be.
So, wherever you are serving and ministering today, know that someone is praying for you. And even better, Jesus is walking with you and standing beside you in the fire.
Wow! Powerful blog! I believe I have had many "but even if..." moments in my life. Single at the age of thirty-five, I battled loneliness. I had to come to that place in my relationship with the Lord that I would follow Him and love Him even if that meant I would never marry. As the battle against loneliness would rage against me, I would declare that very statement to myself over and over again.
Currently, I am in the process of yielding another desire of my heart to the Lord. And just like many times before, it is requiring me to surrender daily to His authority in my life and to make a choice to follow after Him even if my dream is never realized. It is a choice to love Him above all else and place Him as first and foremost in my life. Thanks for the reminder this morning. Maybe, I will begin to read these two verses over and over again until that message makes the journey from my head to my heart.