A faith that will prepare the way for all to see God…the everlasting God.
How is your faith? Do you believe God? Do you trust Him? There are many great examples of faith in the bible: John the Baptist & Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego
Each one had something great for God that they were going to do…They each were going to prepare the way for God’s glory to be seen.
John the Baptist literally prepared the way for Jesus to start his earthly ministry. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s faith would make their God known not only to an egotistical king, but to the entire nation.
But before they could prepare the way. They had to go through a time of preparation themselves:
John spent years in the wilderness.
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego spent years under King Nebuchadnezzar service…
and although that doesn’t sound bad…let’s look into their story.
This story is a great read. If you have time, read through the entire story sometime this week. Here is a paraphrase:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were Israelite nobility/royalty taken by the King along with Daniel to be trained and to work in the king’s court (Daniel 1) They were found to be wiser than the wise and became consultants for the king. And eventually governors posted throughout Babylon under the leadership of Daniel (end of Daniel 2)
The King was…let’s just say…difficult to get along with. 
He was demanding and glory-driven. Ruled with fear. His basic MO was…do what I say…give me an answer…or you die.(Daniel 2 – dream interpretation). This kind of volatile, performance-based existence would be stressful to live under. So, I don’t believe, it was a surprise to Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego when the King had a huge idol made to bring glory to himself and required people to worship it. (Daniel 3) And in chapter 3:6 we see the kings expectations: “fall down and worship…or be immediately thrown in ta blazing furnace” again…do what I say or die. Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused and this made the king furious. He had them brought in and talked with them…and they still refused to worship the idol!
These guys were dead serious. They weren’t trying to call the king’s bluff…he had proven himself. Do what I say or die wasn’t a new concept. They knew they were facing certain death. And yet they exhibited such great faith, such trust in their God. Notice in verse 17 that they didn’t say, God might or God can rescue us…but God will rescue us!
But if not.. we still won’t bow, we won’t worship other gods.
But if Not…But if Not? At first look, this can look somewhat contradictory: God will save us, but if not?
Will He or won’t He? Is He or isn’t He?
This is where we can get stuck. Too often the enemy tempts us to despair; to doubt. He’s been feeding theses lies to us since the beginning:
God isn’t trustworthy. God doesn’t have your best interest.
I know he does with me…I know I’m supposed to trust God, to have faith in Him. Yet when faced with a difficult situation or decision, what is it I hear in my head? More often than not…I don’t here the resolve…but if not…I hear doubts:
What if it doesn’t work?
What if I fail?
What if____? (fill in the blank)
And all along, God is calling us to say, as Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego said, But if not.
Those three words, But if not, were not doubt. They were resolve…They are resolve.
This does not mean that they weren’t afraid. Praise Jesus. it’s okay to be afraid; to be nervous. I mean, they were getting ready to be thrown into a blazing furnace! These were wise guys. They knew there was no coming back from it. They knew that what goes into the fire is consumed by the fire. But they chose to honor their God above it all!
And you know what that means for me…I can say, God I want to trust you, I’m scared of the road ahead, but no matter the circumstance, no matter the situation, no matter if you give or take away God, I will bless Your name and Yours alone! Because You are good. You are true. You are trustworthy.
It’s not just for bible story characters. It is for you too.
Roman 10:11 – Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
God has a plan for your life. He is preparing you. He wants to use you to proclaim His glory to all people. The faith of these 3 men, had the king praising their God. The true God. Their faith was known to the nation.
This song was written to tell of the faith of these men. Listen to these words…
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