But what amazed me this morning was a part of the three friends' response to the king that had escaped my memory.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were Jewish exiles living in Babylon. The Babylonion king, Nebuchadnezzer, had created a huge idol of gold and decreed that all must bow down and worship it or else be thrown into a fiery furnace. When the king received word that these three exiles (government officials even, thanks to their friend Daniel's favor with the king - see Daniel 2) refused to bow to the idol he was furious. He gave them one more chance to deny their God and worship the golden statue. This was their response:
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:17-18
Did you catch that? "Even if he does not . . ."
We pray faithfully for God's saving hand in many ways - for situations we're facing, for people we love, etc. And it's right to do so. I Peter 5:7 tells us to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
We rejoice when the answer is "yes" but what happens to our faith when the answer is "no"?
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had great faith in the ability and mightiness of their God to save them. But they were also prepared to accept that their deliverance might not be part of the Lord's plan. Either way, they refused to turn to any other. Either way, God was their God. Period.
It's so hard to receive a "no" from the Lord. It can be a real blow to your faith but then there's a choice to make: to stay the course and continue to worship God or to turn to another.
When we miscarried a year and a half ago it was the biggest "no" I'd ever received from the Lord. I had pleaded with Him for the pregnancy but still received the gentle but devastating "no". We went straight into that fiery furnace of grief and loss.
Oh, how I struggled with that "no". And not always gracefully. In fact, it was downright ugly sometimes between me and the Lord.
I came to a pivotal point when I read this in Beth Moore's "Get Out of That Pit":
"God thinks of His children continually. And when God thinks of His children, He only thinks in terms of what can be used toward our good, toward His plan for us, and toward the future. His intentions can only be pure. Right. Full of hope. Promoting peace. Listen carefully. God did not haphazardly or accidentally let Joseph's brothers throw him in the pit. He had already thought it out in advance. Considered it. Weighed it. Checked it against the plumb line of the plan. He had looked at the good it could ultimately accomplish, the lives that could be helped and even saved. Then, and only then, in His sovereign purpose did He permit such harm to come to His beloved child. Had the incident not possessed glorious purpose, God would have disarmed it."
Those last two sentences still put a lump in my throat. I know them to be true but it's still really, really hard to reconcile myself to. It's a daily work. However, I feel like wrestling with the Lord over that particular "no" brought me to a place of trust in Him that I never would have got to otherwise. In a way that was a healing - just not the one I expected or even preferred at the moment.
God's "no"s are just as glorious as His "yes"es.
Just because He is mighty to save doesn't mean He will. Or maybe He does, just not in the way we understand or expect.
And that is a really hard lesson to learn. A lesson, I have a feeling, that is not a one-time thing. Probably more like a life-long journey.
My prayer for all of us (myself most definitely included) is that when we come to that crossroads, when we're in need of saving, that we will be confident that God is mighty.
To save.
To not save.
But always mighty.
Good point, I am a little wierd and I always have weird thought on everything concerning deep thinking as for as God is concerned. Okay so that might not be making sense, but here is the thought. Why would God say "no" to a pray asking Him to save someone? I don't see how a no to that would have any good on anyone. I know who am I to question, that probably why I just don't go there and think too hard on some things concerting God's thinking. My favorite verse is "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 55:8-10
When we were trying to be pregnant I often meditated on this verse and still do.
Great thoughts, Ginger! I love honest feedback and questions because it makes me think about different perspectives!
ReplyDeleteI agree about all the deep thinking about God - I often get myself tangled up in trying to figure out certain things. I love the verse you mentioned - what a great thing to think on when I get too tangled up :-)
As for the saving part - I'm so glad you brought that up because I need to clarify . . . I'm using "save" in our very human sense of the word, from hard situations, grief, etc. but not talking about salvation.
Concerning salvation though I think this is where I get tangled with how free will works in conjunction with God's sovereignty. I know I can pray for someone's salvation but they have to truly believe and accept. God can make them, but He won't. So what does that mean for my prayer? Does that mean God is giving them more opportunities to see/hear Him? Or sometimes I wonder if prayer is as much about changing our own hearts as it is the situation? But I know God hears and acts on our prayers . . . See! Here I go in that tangly mess!!! I'm going back to your verse now :-)
Keep the thoughts coming!!!! Love it!!
I like this post so much. I totally understand what you mean about accepting the no and really being okay with it. I have wrestled with the Lord on something recently where I felt totally done unfairly and his answer still has me in awe. It is so simple but was a real ah ha moment for me..... You think that you have been done unfairly what about my PERFECT SON who died on the Cross for all your SINS.... not just died but a humiliating unjust death!!! Okay Lord, I hear you... you are The Almight Sovereign Lord and you know what is best even if I feel this is unfair it has passed through you before it came to me and I trust that you will use it for your good Lord. Even though I heard this as if I was talking to my mom on the phone I still had the choice to respond or distance myself from God and be bitter. I am so grateful for God's patience and Grace in dealing with me, from this situation I God has grown my walk with him so much.
ReplyDeleteC- Ooooo - that's some good stuff there! I thought about the Lord's response to you just today when I was having a pity party for myself. It quickly shifted my perspective. And, yes, I'm grateful for God's patience also - goodness knows I test it unceasingly!!
ReplyDeleteThank Leilanni for your comment. That makes so much sense about how it is our choice to except God. I know that but forget sometime that our God is so good that he wants us to make a decission to love him not his.
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