But Even If He Doesn’t . . .

But Even If He Doesn’t . . .

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” –Daniel 3:16-18

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are Sunday school felt-board heroes who were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to worship the gold statue of the Babylonian king. I suppose they gained Bible hero status because they refused to bow down to idols and because they survived the fire, but I don’t think that is what made them heroic. What amazes me about these young men was their faith—not faith that God would certainly deliver them from the fire, but faith that wouldn’t waver “even if he doesn’t.”

We heard a Bible college friend of David’s, Barry Arnold, preach a sermon in which he admitted, “I used to think ‘even if he doesn’t’ was an escape clause for a God who just might not come through. You wouldn’t want your God to look bad. I remember hearing people pray, ‘if it be thy will, Lord,’ and thinking to myself, Come on, don’t give God a way out. How can you know if he ever answers prayer if you always say, ‘thy will be done’?”

Today Barry has a new perspective. He now says that prayers that leave no room for “even if he doesn’t” are not truly prayers of faith. The prayer of faith is one of submission to God that does not presume to know what God will do or tell him what he should do. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t pretend that they knew what God would do in their situation, and there is no evidence that they cried out to him, telling him what they thought he should do. Because they knew God and trusted God, they believed he would do what is right, even if it resulted in their death. Their commitment was not to read God’s mind but to remain true to God no matter what.

Does it seem like weak faith for you to pray in your situation, “God, I know you have the power to deliver me from this fire of difficulty or pain, but I don’t know if you will”? It isn’t. That is a “but even if he doesn’t” kind of prayer, and it makes you a faith hero in God’s estimation.

God who is able to save, I want to place my faith in you alone rather than in what you will do for me. I entrust myself to you and refuse to bow down to the idol of any god of my own making who always saves in the way I want.

DIGGING DEEPER