DANIEL 3:18

We do not always know how God is going to move. Sometimes He comes down in the most dramatic way and miraculously intervenes. Yet there are other times when He seems not to come at all, at least not in the way we are wanting and expecting Him to come. Sometimes it works out just as we are expecting, and at other times it really makes you wonder to the point of even doubting your own self and your faith. I must admit that sometimes today I get somewhat discouraged, even to the point of questioning if our God still heals like He used to, especially when I look around and see so much sickness in the church and all around. However, I am encouraged by Scripture, which unwaveringly points to the fact that He is the same God today as He was back then.

As I wrestled with some of these questions, Daniel chapter 3, verses 16, 17, and 18 offered some real enlightenment. In response to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, who insisted that all bow to his golden image or otherwise be viciously executed, the three Hebrew servants of the most High God declared “. . . we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” (16, 17). Then they said the most interesting and mind- boggling thing: “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (v.18). Our God can and will deliver “but if not.” So many times we recite and rehearse this passage, yet we often omit or overlook the significance of this part, these three words: “but if not.”

We always just want to concentrate on the dazzling prospect and demonstration of the miraculous. We are mesmerized by the Almighty powerfully intervening on our behalf. However, I think it is necessary and important to understand and keep in mind that there is that possibility that things may not always transpire and materialize according to how we want or desire. We must leave room for the “But if Not.”

I certainly want to be miraculously cured and healed. I want God to supernaturally heal and deliver my loved one. I want to see spiritual fireworks and witness the hand and power of God in every crisis, but I am discerning here in this passage that we must certainly make allowances for the “If nots.” Just in case it doesn’t happen like I am praying and hoping, it in no way changes my/our resolve to be just as faithful and even more determined.

Yes, I want a miracle. I desire the Almighty to show forth His mighty power in a most unusual way, but should it not happen as I am expecting, I remain ever so convinced that He is still God, and no power on earth or beyond could cause us to stop believing. I say and declare whether He heals or chooses not to – He is still God, sovereign, immeasurable, immutable, and immense. Should I be delivered from the present crisis or not, my mind, our minds, are made up never to retract or even turn aside. It matters not what comes; our minds are so thoroughly, irreversibly, irrevocably set. He can, and He will deliver, but if not, our minds are more than firmly made up.