Unconditional Faith

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

I have been struggling over the last few months. To be honest, I have been a little mad at God. He did not do something that I thought he should have. To some this may sound silly but to others, I think you may understand. I felt betrayed. I had prayed regularly, earnestly and I believed. I genuinely believed and confessed that God was going to answer my prayer. He would do what I had asked.

But he didn’t.

He did the opposite.

I was devastated. So, I stopped talking to him. Why should I pray, he’s going to do what he wants anyway. Well, yes. He is God and he knows much more than me. Though I knew it in my head, my heart was still wounded.

So, after I finished my fit, I decided that I needed to get back in the Word and back to communicating with God. I thought the best way would be to fast. You see I was hurt and disappointed, but I knew I needed the intimacy of our relationship back. That is what I knew in my mind, but my heart was reluctant.

I decided to read the book of Daniel during this time. One evening as I read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego something struck me. In verse 17, they declared that God would deliver them, but then in verse 18:

¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods,

nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

But if not……  I realized in that moment that faith, real faith is unconditional.  It is not dependent on whether he does something for us. It is not dependent on if we get all we want. It is unconditional. I imagine these men facing a horrible death and they knew that God could deliver them. They also knew that he may not. Not knowing what the outcome, they stood before King Nebuchadnezzar and told him they would not comply. They were able to do so because they had unconditional faith in God.

We all want God’s forgiving and unconditional love, but we are unwilling to give unconditional faith and commitment. I discovered that about myself. It was a bitter pill.

Do I have that kind of faith? Do you? Could I face death and not falter and trust in God no matter the outcome?

I think that is something we should all be asking.

True faith is unconditional.

Typist for Jesus