What if you’ve obeyed, been faithful, done everything right, and still nothing happens? What if your prayers are still not answered? What if there is no healing? What if there’s no breakthrough or miracle?
During their Babylonian captivity, King Nebuchadnezzar created a statue, turning it into a god, and making a decree that all the people in his kingdom must bow down before it. However, three young Hebrew men that had been taken captive, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow.
Nebuchadnezzar is furious and goes into a rage. And in the public square, before all the people at the statue, he gives the Hebrew boys one more chance to bow and warns them that if they do not bow, the Babylonians will throw them into a blazing furnace.
Here’s the response from these young men to a powerful and wicked king:
Daniel 3:16-18 NLT
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Key in on that phrase in verse18 that has become one of my life verses:
18 But even if he doesn’t.
Those young men were saying, “Our God can deliver us, but in His sovereignty, if he were to choose something else at this moment, we’re serving notice on you king we will still trust our God we will still be faithful to him we will still honor him, and we will not bow to your idols.
The phrase “But even if he doesn’t” is an incredible expression of trust and faith. These young men believed in God and trusted him, even if he wouldn’t answer their requests the way they preferred.
