004 - Even If He Doesn’t

Daniel 3 tells one of the most famous biblical experiences we know, and it’s about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. There’s a phrase in the passage that quotes the three Hebrews responding to King Nebuchadnezzar’s demand to worship his golden statue or be thrown into the blazing furnace.

If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.
Daniel 3:17-18

That’s the best part of the whole passage. In fact, it goes on to say that the king was so infuriated by their response that his face became distorted with anger!

Here’s the question I want to propose today: What if God doesn’t come through for you - would you still remain faithful? This is what I like to call being unreasonably committed. It’s one thing to choose to be faithful to God when He heals you from cancer, protects your children, blesses your finances, or restores your relationship. But what if He doesn’t? Would you still remain faithful even in the face of death? Better yet, how about in the face of life?

Being unreasonably committed means having an “even-if-He-doesn’t” kind of faith. That’s not where we start out, and it may not be where you are today; but that’s the goal we’re aiming towards. We want to be committed enough to say, “We know our God will come through, but even if He doesn’t, we will still follow Him.” Is that reasonable? No. But we’re not after a faith that’s reasonable - we want a faith that sees unreasonable and impossible things happen because of our unreasonable commitment to a God who is incredibly generous and powerful.

And as we would see if we continued to read this story in Daniel 3, guess who shows up in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Jesus, who else? He showed up and went through the fire with them, and the only things that were burned were the ropes the soldiers used to tie up the three Hebrews. (There’s a fantastic sermon in there somewhere!) What’s the point? Jesus never fails. Never has. Never will.

Your pastor will fail you. Your favorite preacher on TV will eventually disappoint you. Your spouse will let you down. Your kids will not meet your expectations. But Jesus never ever fails. He is the only one strong enough to be able to withstand the weight of your unreasonable commitment. And because He has never failed and will never fail, you can be unreasonably committed to Him. You can have a “even-if-He-doesn’t” kind of faith!