“But, if not…” — Daniel 3:18
Do you ever wonder where faith leaves off and doubt enters in? Daniel chapter three tells the story of Daniel’s three friends, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. These young men were whisked away from their families, homelands, and everything they knew around 600 B.C. by the invading Babylonian army. They were taken back to Babylon to be trained to forget that they were Jews and to live like they were Babylonians. It didn’t work. The three boys, along with Daniel, held fast to their upbringing, their identity, and their God. They lived up to the meaning of their names: Daniel – God is my deliverer, Hananiah – the Lord is gracious, Azariah – the Lord helps, and Mishael – who is what God is?
In chapter three, Daniel’s friends face the trial of a lifetime. An idol has been erected, and the king demands that it be worshipped. The boys refuse, but the gracious king offers them one last chance: bow before the idol and walk away unharmed, or refuse and be immediately thrown into a furnace. Here is where the courage and faith of these boys stand fast. “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” (Daniel 3:17-18). Now, is the “But, if not” a sign of faith or a sign of doubt? Do they doubt that God will save them and therefore demonstrate their fear and lack of faith by creating an “out” clause? I do not think so.
Daniel’s friends knew, as we must learn to know, that God is a great deliverer. There is nothing he cannot do, and there are times when he enters our lives in dramatic fashion and saves the day. We get what we do not necessarily deserve – deliverance. There are also times when his faithful followers must face the furnace. When that time comes, it is not a lack of faith but a demonstration of submission to the sovereignty of God to declare that it is entirely up to him whether he will deliver us or allow us to be delivered over. Daniel’s friends essentially say, “We trust God, we know what he can do, but he does not have to do it in order for us to submit ourselves to him.” In other words, it is not a demonstration of a lack of faith for us to acknowledge that God may have different plans for us than we would want for ourselves. Jesus is living proof of this reality. In the Garden he prayed fervently for the cup of God’s wrath to be withheld from him but concluded the prayer, not in doubt, but in obedience, when he stated “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Since all that God plans for his children is good, even those events that would cause us to suffer are ultimately designed for our good and his glory.
This Sunday we will pick up our Genesis series again in chapter 37. We will read the narrative that relates to us how Joseph, a seemingly innocent young man, is abducted, abused, mistreated, and then sold into slavery by his very own brothers. This begins a narrative that takes us through the next decade-plus in this young man’s life, a time filled with more suffering and injustice, none of which causes him to lose hope in God or to abandon his commitment to him.
Most of us know how this story ends. Joseph is vindicated and exalted to a position of great power. God “comes through” in his lifetime to right wrongs and reestablish him to a place of honor. It is a wonderful “rags to riches” story (or maybe more accurately, a “riches to rags to riches” story). But we all know, some of us by personal experience, that it does not always work out this way. Sometimes the vindication does not show up on this side of heaven. What then? If we, in a moment of exhaustion and stress, cry out for deliverance yet include the caveat “But, if not…” or “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done,” do we demonstrate a lack of faith in God? I will argue that the answer is a definitive “no.” To acknowledge that God is sovereign and that he knows best is not a defeatist attitude, but a faithful attitude. If God fixes what is broken in our lives on this side of heaven, we rejoice and give thanks. If he chooses to wait until the consummation of all things, we are called upon to trust and wait on him. The second scenario is less pleasant and may tax our faith. However, it may also drive us deeper into our relationship with God and cause us to say with Joseph, “You meant this for evil, but God meant it for good.”
In this world, we must all face trouble friends, but be of good cheer, even when the horizon looks bleak we may know with absolute certainty, Christ has overcome the world.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym