When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow before Nebuchadnezzar’s ninety-foot golden god, he threatened them with a fiery furnace. Here is what they told him: ‘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…we do not serve your gods’ (vv. 17-18 NKJV). When does God show up? When you say, ‘God is able to deliver me, but if not, I’m going to serve Him anyway.’ It’s wonderful when God provides what we need. Yet, the faith that truly pleases God says, ‘But if not, I’m going to trust God anyway.’ Peter writes: ‘There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold –though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world’ (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT). And one more thought: the Bible does not say that the three Hebrew children saw the fourth man who was with them in the fire; it says that Nebuchadnezzar did, and he described Him as ‘the Son of God’ (Daniel 3:25 NKJV). So even when you don’t know it, your faith, your life, and testimony are impacting those around you and bringing glory to God.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.