The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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 3:16-18
The book of Daniel is full of exciting events, and real people. We know these three men as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – the Babylonian names given to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They had been taken with Daniel in the captivity, and like him were trained for service in the Babylonian court.
After Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the multi-metalled statue, he built a solid gold statue for himself and demanded that everyone throughout his kingdom bow down and worship it. But for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, bowing down was not an option. God’s law, to worship Him and Him alone, was higher than any law of man. It’s interesting to read what they said to the king. They trusted in God: “the God we serve is able to save us... but even if He does not...”. They acknowledged God was able to save them, but they didn’t know if He would or not. This shows the depth of their faith, and their resolve to stay true to God no matter what. Of course we know that God did save them from the furnace, even when it was heated seven times hotter than usual.
We can read of, and even experience ourselves, instances where God miraculously saves a person from persecution or certain death. But we also read of, and experience, times when He doesn’t. This doesn’t mean He is any less able. It just means He has a better purpose, and that our suffering will glorify Him more than He would be glorified if He rescued us. We may not understand this now, but when we come into eternity, we will.