the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or rack, shack, & benny according to Veggie Tales) is one of my favorites. And we talked a lot about their story on DTS. "You are able to deliver from the fire of affliction... but even if You don't.... we will burn..." (burn us up- Shane &Shane)
But as we read the story in church today I saw it with new eyes.
"16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 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. 18 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
There are so many good things here.. but one stands out to me. verse 17.
the God we serve is able to save us from it. Rack, Shack, and Benny knew the strength of God. And they believed He would save them.
and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But here's the kicker. God is able, but he doesn't always rescue us from situations. Sometimes He does not intervene. And they knew that. And were willing to take that risk, to have that faith and to still trust and serve their God knowing that they very well might be charred to a crisp.
But even if he does not, How often do I simply assume that I won't burn. That God will protect not only my soul but my "earthsuit" (thanks Gary for that term!) as well. WRONG.
Rack, Shack and Benny weren't angry at God for allowing them for them to actually get thrown in. Though they emerged complete, not even smelling like smoke. BUt what if God hadn't protected them entirely? What if He had indeed spared their lives but they had some minor burns and some singes on their clothes? Or consider the story of Daniel in the lion's den. What if God had not actually shut the mouths of the lions. What would have happened if God had allowed a lion to take one bite out of Daniel .. granted the spectacle would have been lessened. And God would kind of look like weak sauce. Could you imagine what the crowds who were watching would say "Come on. All powerful? Your God couldn't shut the mouths of lions or quench the flames. All He did was spare your life. And not without some damage to your person." And they would be right. When God doesn't fully intervene, when He doesn't fully rescue us from evil, He looks weak. We wonder... what happened to this all-powerful God who loves us?
And, if that hypothetical situation had occurred, minor burns and a lion snack. How would they have reacted? How would Rack, Shack, and Benny have felt treating their wounds? Or how would Daniel feel getting his wound sewn up? Would they have felt betrayed by God? Let down and abandoned? Looking at the text, I would say no. They had all firmly resolved to follow their God no matter what the cost and had already faced much testing of that choice. They had made their choice to follow no matter what the cost. And I know that I have said that many times. So what's wrong with me? Why am I angry about a lion bite when I am still alive?
So many times we.. ok, I assume that when I read those verses in the Bible where God says He will protect us and save us, I read that as physically. That God will protect my body and spare my physical life. Well, that's not true. God will not always spare me, because let's face it, we all do die eventually. The point is that He will always protect my SOUL, which is really the only part that matters. My soul is the only part of me that is eternal. And so, sometimes, for purposes and reasons unknown to me, He will not always spare my physical body. Sometimes, He'll spare my life.. but.. allow other things to befall me. I mean look at Job. He lost everything. His children, his possessions, his livelihood and income, his health, his wife, his friends, and his reputation. And yet... he still trusted God with it all. God was able to intervene in each of those situations, and He chose not to. Job couldn't see why as he cried out over and over to God. But eventually he did see that God's aim was to draw Job into a deeper relationship with Him. That may not have been all of God's motivation or reason to allow Job to suffer, but that was His desired result. It all comes down to how God chooses to limit Himself to allowing us to have free will.
All that for love.... What an amazing God!
And that's the thing. We find ourselves disappointed and disillusioned with God when bad things happen and we feel He's let us down. In reality, it was just our wrong perceptions that let us down. I think in North America we have subscribed at least to a degree in prosperity gospel. That if we follow Jesus bad or hard things won't happen to us. So we are totally surprised when things do happen to us. And shocked. And wondering what's wrong with God. Perhaps that's part of the curse of affluence and comfort. In other places in the world, hardship and suffering is common place. It happens to everyone. a lot. And we don't see that here. Suffering and sorrow aren't so common place. Our culture doesn't know how to deal with pain (not that many cultures do) we just bury it and go on pretending that life is fine.. to put on a happy face. And I think that's the root behind so many problems in society. Instead of being shocked when bad things happen, we have to entrust our hearts to God and bring our pain to Him. And when we get there, we find Him already weeping over it.. and yet ready to heal us.. over time. I am not claiming to have this all figured out, it's something I'm walking through. Wrong beliefs and misplaced trust that God is exposing through all of this. And, drawing me closer once more. I am so thankful for a relentless God! "For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal." -Job 5:18
