But If Not

It is easy to say we trust God when we believe He will give us the outcome we want. But what happens when faithfulness costs us something?

Many of us trust God with an unspoken condition: I will follow You as long as You protect me from the fire.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a different kind of faith. They trusted God even if obedience led them directly into it.

Everyone Was Supposed to Bow

King Nebuchadnezzar built a golden image and commanded everyone to worship it. When the music played, every person was supposed to bow. Anyone who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace.

For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Three Hebrew Boys, the choice was clear: Bow to the image and disobey God, or obey God and face the fire.

When the music played, everyone bowed. But they remained standing.

The King Gave Them Another Chance

When King Nebuchadnezzar heard that they had refused to bow, he was furious. He brought them before him and gave them one more chance. Bow when the music played, or be thrown into the furnace.

Then the king asked:

“And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
—Daniel 3:15

They did not try to negotiate. Their answer revealed that the decision had already been made in their hearts:

“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace…”

“But if not… we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image…”
—Daniel 3:17–18

They Had Already Decided

They knew God was able to deliver them, but their obedience did not depend on deliverance.

In other words: Even if He does not, we still will not bow.

Their faith was not based on what God would do for them. It was rooted in who God was to them.

God Did Not Keep Them From the Fire

King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter and had them thrown inside.

God could have stopped it. He could have put out the fire before they reached it. But He allowed them to be thrown in.

Then the king looked into the furnace and saw something he could not explain:

“Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

“Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt…”
—Daniel 3:24–25

God did not keep them from the fire. He met them in it.

When they came out, their clothes were untouched. They did not even smell like smoke.

Settle It Before the Fire

The Three Hebrew Boys did not wait until they were standing before the furnace to decide whom they would serve. They had already settled it. That is why the king’s threat could not change their answer.

The fire may look different in our lives. It may be rejection, pressure to compromise, an unanswered prayer, or a season when obeying God costs more than we expected.

Settle that God is worthy of your trust in the face of the hard thing.

What Have You Settled?

For the Three Hebrew Boys, the fire was the cost of obeying God and refusing to compromise.

We all have things we are asking God to help us with. We should ask because God is able. But faith must also answer a harder question:

What if God does not do it the way I hoped? Will I still trust Him?

The Three Hebrew Boys could stand before the king because they had already decided in their hearts to follow God.

Before the fire comes, settle this in your heart:

God is able. But even if He does not deliver me the way I hope, I will still trust and obey Him.