Excerpt taken from Our Daily Bread Devotional...
passage: Daniel 3:8-18
Through the centuries, some of God's servants have faced the possibility of an agonizing death unless they renounced their faith. They knew that God could deliver them, but they also knew that in keeping with His own purposes He might not answer their pleas for supernatural help.
In the book of Daniel, three young Hebrew captives faced a life-and-death choice: Worship the king's gold image or be thrown into the fiery furnace. Their response was unhesitating: "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace." They added, "But if not, . . . we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up" (Daniel 3:17-18).
But if not! Those words challenge our allegiance. Suppose we face crippling disease. Suppose we are facing shameful disgrace. Suppose we are facing painful loss. We plead for God's intervention, yet in every threatening circumstance our plea should carry the proviso, "But if not!"
Is our attitude that of Jesus in Gethsemane? "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39).
Are we willing to endure whatever will glorify God and work out His holy purposes? —Vernon Grounds
They climbed the steep ascent of heaven
Through peril, toil, and pain:
O God, to us may grace be given
To follow in their train. —Heber
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hmmm... i wonder if i do that in my prayers... "but if not"... am i willing to endure whatever will glorify God and work out His holy purposes? it's a hard concept to grasp and even harder to live out... do we as normal people constantly have God at the center of our hearts? Are we developing the mindset that everything that relates to us -- every action, every thought, every feeling, every decision, every pain, every heartache, every relationship, every conversation -- everything -- should bring glory to God? i know this is definitely a challenge for me... are we praying unceasingly with passion, fervor, and faith in our God? How much are we willing to sacrifice to work out God's holy purposes? How well are we even working towards finding out what God wants of us daily? it's simple actually... God wants you. all of you.
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