Three young men faced a desperate situation. A furious king stood before them commanding them to bow and worship his statue as if it was God. A horrible furnace awaited a negative answer.

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King 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 deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3, The Message)

I like that. They didn’t write books about why bad things happen to good people. They made up their mind to serve God no matter what.

So how come they stood firm before the big question and so many of us fall?
They knew God and how He was. Situations don’t change who He is.

But why doesn’t God do something when He could? Actually, sometimes God explains Himself, though He’s not obliged to do it.

*At times it’s a trial to make you stronger.
*He may have a plan that I don’t know.
*Sometimes it’s something that lies alongside the path you choose. If you go that way, you’ll have that trial.
*Sometimes it’s a part of spiritual warfare, and you’re a warrior. Warriors fight.
*Sometimes it’s an attack of the devil and we’re not fulfilling the minimum requirement—trust the Lord. God responds to faith. That’s the way the universe is.
*Sometimes, you’ve got to grow and you never will if God hands you life on a platter.

In all cases, we have to take the long view. What we see isn’t necessarily what will be and many things change with time. Patience! Promises straddle generations. God called Moses to take the children of Israel to the Promised Land but Joshua actually took them in.

Just because you don’t see it in your life doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

And, admit it, sometimes we just don’t know. But at those times we know some fundamental things—

God really does love us. His Word tells us. A thousand experiences reassure us. Yes, it’s tough in this area, but there are other areas of our lives where his love is evidently showered on us.

We are His and when life smiles on us we serve Him with joy. We are his servants and when life storms on us, we still serve Him with joy. We know that His love, power and truth are not dependant on our circumstances or our perception of what’s happening.

When the general launches his soldiers into battle, the private up front probably doesn’t know the whole battle plan. He just takes care of his own assignment–which might seem inordinately stupid to him. But, the general sees the whole battle.

If God can do something for me, why doesn’t He? He is. He has. He will. When you don’t understand what you see before you, just turn towards the God of Shadrach, Mechach and Abednego. Even when they didn’t understand, they trusted Him. They trusted Him with their lives, whether the outcome of the situation pleased them or not.

And you?

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Hummm …
If you want to create action on the important, figure out how to make it vivid, personal and immediate. Seth Godin