But If Not

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 269, But If Not.

"If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." Daniel 3:17-18.

Put yourself in their place for a moment. King Nebuchadnezzar had raised up an enormous golden statue and commanded the entire kingdom to bow before it at the sound of music. Whoever refused would be thrown into a blazing furnace. This was not an empty threat — it was a certain sentence. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three young Jewish men serving in a foreign empire, refused to bend the knee.

The king, enraged, gave them one final chance. And that's when they answered with these words that still echo across the centuries.

Notice the structure of their answer. First: "our God is able to deliver us." That's full faith. They don't doubt God's power for even a second. It's not a timid faith full of "maybes" — it's a solid confession: the God we serve has power over the fire, over the king, over everything.

But then comes the part that turns this faith into something rare, something few people ever reach: "but if not..." Wait. Are they admitting the possibility that God might not act the way they hope? Yes. And even so — even facing that possibility — they finish the sentence by saying: "we will not serve your gods."

This is the most mature faith there is. It isn't faith that only obeys because it's certain of the outcome. It's faith that obeys regardless — because obedience to God was never negotiable based on what He will or won't do for us.

How often is our own faith conditional like that? "I'll trust God if He fixes this problem." "I'll obey if things turn out the way I expect." Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego show us another way: obedience that doesn't depend on guarantees. Faith that stands firm even when the outcome is uncertain.

And look at what happens next. They're thrown into the furnace — and the king, watching from a distance, sees something impossible: not three men, but four, walking freely in the middle of the fire, and none of them burning. God didn't just answer their faith from a distance. He walked into the furnace with them.

Sometimes we think the proof of our faith is coming out of hardship unscathed. But the real miracle, so often, isn't the absence of the fire — it's the presence of God inside it.

So today, I want to invite you to name one area of your life where you've been obeying God while expecting a specific outcome. Maybe it's a prayer you've been praying for months. Maybe it's a work situation, a health concern, a relationship. And I want you to say out loud, with the same courage as those three young men: "even if it doesn't happen the way I hope, I will remain faithful."

Because your God is able to deliver. And even if He doesn't deliver the way you imagine — He is with you, inside the fire.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.