Daniel 3:17-18
If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.
Reflection:
Life lessons are often learned in seasons of hardship, seasons of waiting, seasons of high-anxiety and paralyzing worry. Wouldn’t it be lovely if wisdom came to us when life was just full of cupcakes, sunshine and rainbows?
In the third chapter of Daniel, we meet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (known as Rack, Shack, and Benny if you are the product of a VeggieTales childhood). These three friends refuse to follow King Nebuchadnezzar’s commands to worship a golden idol because they were devout followers of God. This upsets the king and he orders his men to throw the friends into a furnace.
Rack, Shack and Benny remained faithful to God while they were in the furnace and in the end, they were unharmed by the flames. They went into the fire, unwavering in their devotion to God, and also willing to die for God’s glory. “But if not, be it known to you, O king [Nebuchadnezzar], that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:18).
My takeaway from this story has always been the NOT. Even if not, God is still good. Even if God did not deliver Rack, Shack and Benny from the fire, they remained faithful. What an incredible lesson for us. Can we honestly say that if we were being thrown into an actual fire we could mutter those words of devotion?
Even if not, God is still good. Even if life doesn’t go my way, God is still good.
When I was pregnant with our third son, I received a phone call that I will never forget. I was 12 weeks pregnant at the time and had done early pregnancy blood work that checks the gender and a host of abnormalities in the baby. It’s a pretty common test that many expectant moms do because they want to know the gender of the baby sooner than the standard 20-week ultrasound. During this unexpected phone call, my doctor was calling to tell me that my test results showed that our baby tested positive for Trisomy 13. Through giant tears, I began asking her questions. So many questions. What is Trisomy 13? What do I do? What does this mean? How accurate is this test?
For brevity sake, I’ll save you the deep dive about Trisomy 13. In short, a baby with Trisomy 13 usually does not make it to term or suffers immensely and almost never leaves the hospital to celebrate their first birthday. Learning this, you can imagine the defeat my husband and I felt over this news about our baby.
The following weeks were consumed with worry as we met with a genetic counselor for additional testing. During this time we leaned on Daniel 3:17-18 for comfort and peace. We resolved that regardless of the outcome of the tests, we would continue down the road and give this baby all of the love we could for as long as we could. Even if he was NOT healthy…if he was NOT perfect, God was still good.
Our baby ended up being perfectly healthy, with no signs of Trisomy 13, and I’m mindful that sadly this is not everyone’s story. The early genetic screening ended up being a false positive. Five months after all the worry and stress we had our baby boy. He is now a rambunctious, bossy, energetic, and precious two-year-old who has completed our family in the most perfect way! Hardly a day goes by where I don’t thank God for him and remember that even if things would NOT have turned out this beautifully, I still serve the most beautiful God.
Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you are good, all the time; and all the time, you are good. Thank you for loving us in difficult times and bringing beauty from ashes. Help us to seek your peace in all circumstances and to remember that even when things don’t turn out the way we hoped, you are still good. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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