Daniel 3:17-18 “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.”

This passage comes from the book of Daniel. These are the words that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the king right before they were thrown into the fiery furnace. I read these words several days ago. They resonated deep within me. Those two small words in verse 18 “even if”. Today, we all know that these three men were miraculously saved from what seemed like certain death. But they spoke the words  confidently before they knew what would happen. These three men knew that God could save them, but also that He might not. But they didn’t waver in their faithfulness to God, instead they confidently claim basically “we don’t care what you do to us or if and how God will intercede on our behalf. We serve the One True God and refuse to bow to you or anything else.”

This is a Bible story that most everyone with any exposure to church knows. But what about real life? Does stuff like this happen in real life? The answer is yes! The circumstances are different, there aren’t many being thrown into a fiery furnace these days, but hard times and tragedy are a real thing that all of us deal with. I’ve been a witness to it a couple times in my own church these past couple of months and have seen first hand people boldly declaring “even if, we don’t get the miracle we are praying for we will still praise and serve our God!”

There is the family I know that recently experienced the tragic death of their teenage daughter.  They prayed hard for a miracle as did our entire church family. They knew that Jesus could provide one, but also that even if He didn’t, they would still praise Him. They stand and proudly praise Jesus week after week in church and in their everyday lives!  There is another family that recently received a tragic health diagnosis about their husband and father. They are choosing to boldly praise God and confidently say –even if we don’t get the healing we long for, we will continue to trust and praise Him. They believe that God will use their hard time for His good and glory. These are just normal families that have confident and true faith in God, the One True God they have chosen to serve. The One True God. The same God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego served.

But here is the thing- daily living in the “even if” space is HARD! While my family hasn’t faced any of the tragic circumstances others have, we have faced the hard time of a job loss and the financial strain that puts on a family. You see sometimes the trial period is relatively short, other times it goes on for what seems like forever and you begin to wonder if God will ever act on your behalf. While early on, you my have stood confidently and claimed even if God doesn’t act, I will still praise Him. But now its almost four years later, there have many too many “no’s” to count, you are frustrated, discouraged and your once confident resolve and trust in God begins to falter. Don’t get me wrong here. I know that these families still hurt deeply and they have bad days when the tears and anger just won’t stop. However, seeing them in church standing with hands raised praising Jesus touches a place deep in my heart and gives me new hope for remaining in the “even if” space.

We all face times of testing and trials. We live in a broken and fallen world. Bad things happen to good people. And we all have a choice to make. Will we praise our God even if? Will we praise Him if that testing time is short or long? Will we praise Him even if we don’t get the answer we hope and long for? This is one of those choices that is much easier to make before the hard times come and much harder to stick with once they arrive and even harder when the hard times hang around for any length of time.

There is something else these experiences have taught me. God puts people in our lives specifically to walk with us through the times of “even if”. I say this because I’ve also had the privilege of seeing and experiencing my church family surround those hurting and hold them up when they are completely broken and empty. We all need people in our lives that will pray for us, when we can no longer pray. That will just sit with us and allow us to weep and hurt deeply. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had each other, we also, if we allow it, have people in our lives that will walk with us into and through the fiery furnace.

Take some time today to consider how you will respond when the “even if” comes in your life. Chances are it will come in some form or another. Now is the time to prepare yourself by digging deeply into God’s word and building your relationship with Him. Are you part of a family of believers? Are you fully invested or willing to fully invest in their lives and allow them into yours? I encourage you to be vulnerable and jump in with both feet. The first step is always the hardest. You won’t be sorry!