Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, saying, “Nebuchadnezzar we do not need to defend ourselves to you. If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. He will save us from your power, o king. BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN’T, we want you to know this:: we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have put up.” Daniel 3:16-18
The pastor, in the middle of no where church in Nicaragua last Sunday, used this verse. He didn’t use it for the reason that it caught my attention, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it sense.
I mean dang, that’s the kind of faith I desire right there. An EVEN IF HE DOESN’T kind of faith.
At the end of the day, no matter what, I wanna be able to say I serve the one and only God with my life.
Even if He doesn’t heal my sister. Even if he doesn’t capture the hearts of everyone I ask Him to. Even if He doesn’t bless me with a husband and kids. Even if he doesn’t allow me to fight against injustice. Even if He doesn’t ever show up in the ways that I desire Him to, I want to believe that God is always good.
And at this point in my life, I don’t.
My trust in God is actually very tentative and circumstantial. Just the other day I made the comment “if that happened, I would seriously stop following Christ.” And I meant it. Some faith I have, huh.
I tell other people all the time that God knows what’s best for them, He allows things in His perfect timing, that this world is evil and bad things happen to good people because of sin in the world not because God wishes it to happen. But it seems as if I don’t actually believe it.
Because if my dad died tomorrow, or if I end up alone, or if I end up stuck in Huntington WV for the rest of my life… I can honestly say if would be VERY difficult for me to believe that God is good and wants what is best for me. Because of course, I know what’s best for ME ( insert eye roll emoji here. )
How selfish. How faithless. How prideful.
I am just a small small spec in the story God has written. He is much bigger than anything I can ever comprehend & I believe without a doubt that He exists. I am just beginning to realize that believing in Him means I also have to believe He is everything He says He is.
So that’s my new goal. To find the strength and the trust to have an EVEN IF HE DOESN’T faith, because I want to spend my whole life serving the God who created all things. He is more than deserving of my love, trust, and appreciation in every situation, good or bad. And I pray that if your faith is also lacking in these areas, that you would also challenge yourself to find the freedom of fully trusting God.
