Our God Is Able, But ...
Many of us have heard the story of the three young Hebrew men in Daniel 3. Their Babylonian names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and the story tells how God delivered them from the fiery furnace because they remained faithful to God. However, sometimes, we forget part of what they told King Nebuchadnezzar. We forget the part after the "but."(Daniel 3:17,18) I think that is the most important part of the entire story. Let me explain.
These three men would not worship the golden image when the music was played as the king commanded, because they would only worship the One True God. The king called them before him, and told them they would be cast into the fiery furnace. Their reply to the king was classic, "If that is the case, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ..., but if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." See what I mean, the "but" is very important to the meaning. They would not worship other gods or bow down to the image, even if God decided not to deliver them. They trusted in God's ability to deliver them, but they also trusted Him in His decision of whether or not to save them from death in the furnace.
This declares a great truth. We do not serve God just when He does what we want. We do not tell God what to do, if He wants us to trust Him. He is God. He knows best. Our part is to worship Him and Him alone. If they had died in the flames, the story would have been just as good to me. They would have shown everyone there that they trusted God, no matter what happened to them. Is that true for you, or do you doubt God when He does answer every prayer just the way you want? If you have conditional commitment to God, that is not a commitment at all. Our faith in God is forever, because He is worthy. It is not temporary or conditional.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Daniel 5-8.
These three men would not worship the golden image when the music was played as the king commanded, because they would only worship the One True God. The king called them before him, and told them they would be cast into the fiery furnace. Their reply to the king was classic, "If that is the case, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ..., but if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." See what I mean, the "but" is very important to the meaning. They would not worship other gods or bow down to the image, even if God decided not to deliver them. They trusted in God's ability to deliver them, but they also trusted Him in His decision of whether or not to save them from death in the furnace.
This declares a great truth. We do not serve God just when He does what we want. We do not tell God what to do, if He wants us to trust Him. He is God. He knows best. Our part is to worship Him and Him alone. If they had died in the flames, the story would have been just as good to me. They would have shown everyone there that they trusted God, no matter what happened to them. Is that true for you, or do you doubt God when He does answer every prayer just the way you want? If you have conditional commitment to God, that is not a commitment at all. Our faith in God is forever, because He is worthy. It is not temporary or conditional.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Daniel 5-8.