If this be so, our God whom we serve IS ABLE to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. BUT IF NOT, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:17-18
I have always loved this story in Daniel and the words BUT IF NOT made a huge impact on me because I understood there a...re times God may choose not to deliver his believers. I always admired the trust, faith, and belief Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had regardless of their outcome. Their trust was in the Lord !!!
I want be a BUT IF NOT kind of believer like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who had a steadfast belief that God could deliver them. Yet even if God did not, they still remained faithful and true to Him, knowing He is their ultimate deliverer. Someone with that kind of faith can’t be defeated because their hope is not in worldly deliverance, but in the ultimate deliverance that Christ will bring when He comes to rule, and sin and death are no more. A "but if not" Christian stands boldly in the face of any circumstance, committed to trusting God's ultimate deliverance, no matter what they are experiencing.
That is the kind of believer I strive to be trusting HIM completely knowing he can deliver me from any circumstance BUT IF NOT trusting HIS perfect planThat is the kind of believer I strive to be trusting HIM completely knowing he can deliver me from any circumstance BUT IF NOT trusting HIS perfect plan. That is the kind of believer I strive to be trusting HIM completely knowing he can deliver me from any circumstance BUT IF NOT trusting HIS perfect plan.