VOTW: The "If not" kind of Faith (15 August 2021)

"If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 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.” Daniel 3:17‭-‬18

There are two things to focus on today's verse of the week: "If that is the case" and "But if not". The two phrases, from the reply of the three friends to the King's threat, reveals a life of faith that I aspire to have. I really believe that that is the life for the believer now.

Context of Daniel 3

In this chapter from the book of Daniel, we see a short story, not of Daniel, but of his three friends who were mentioned in Daniel 1: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego which were the Babylonian names given to them). In short, king Nebuchadnezzar had a large statue made of gold built, and decreed that everyone must worship the statue at a certain signal, if not: those who disobeyed shall be killed. And the three friends, being loyal servants of God and conscious of their own laws which tells them not to worship other Gods, chose not to obey this law. They were reported, brought before the king, and the king gave them a final chance on the spot, to obey his decree or die. And we see the reply, in today's bible verse of the week, that these men said to the king's threat.

"If that is the case"

The king said they will be thrown into the fire if they do not follow his command to worship his statue; the friends replied, "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us...". A most wonderful stand, when you realize that while they were serving in the King's court, the three friends were conscious of the God whom they serve. While the king's case before them was one of death and danger, they raised up their own anchor of Hope, that their God would be able to deliver them! That is the first appearance of faith which we can aspire towards. Are we faced with trouble and dire circumstances? Who do we serve? We serve the God of the bible, the God who gave His Son up for us, and the God who reached out to us while we were still sinners! Like the three friends, let us have faith in the God who is able to deliver us!

"But if not"

Secondly, I think this is something that we do not really hear about in pulpits anymore. We want healings, we want blessings, we want miracles; but if they do not happen? Some get discouraged, some leave the faith, some blame God. But look at the wonderful reply of these three friends:

"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."

Sometimes I wish (I say so reverently) that the silent implication was written out here, but the Holy Spirit knows better, and the message behind these words are gloriously sounded, like the trumpets of triumph:

"But if not, even if we are not delivered from the fire, even if the king seems to have power over us, we will not worship another god." Their faith was in their God, not in the deliverance, not in a miracle, not in their circumstance. If we could catch this spirit in our times, and stand firm in a world which seems to use reason and logic to stamp out spirituality, we will find ourselves on unshakable ground, where we truly live not by sight, but by faith.

Beloved, may this type of faith typify our walk with Jesus. And just before we start going into a laborious work out of strife, here is the punchline to meditate for the week:

"looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith..." Hebrews 12:2

Jesus is the One who finishes our faith! And furthermore, Jesus has already went through all of these in our place! In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith! Here it is:

"saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” " Luke 22:42

Jesus displayed the perfect "But if not..." faith in His Father, and He further went through the pain of a path with no deliverance for you and me; so that you and me, we can call out to our God, say "Let Your will be done." and be confident in what Jesus has accomplished on the Cross.

Our "But if not..." faith is our revelation of what Jesus has done on the Cross. Friends, I pray that our faith will be rooted in the One who brings the miracle and the deliverance, but never to the miracles or deliverance themselves!