Monday meditation: trusting in God for help only he can provide
Has any of us ever faced a trial as fiery and fearsome as the one Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego endured? Some readers might say “Yes.” They have trembled to stay faithful when they felt trapped by every bad option before them. They have wanted to run away from demands they’re pretty sure they can’t satisfy.
The fact is, most of us caring for someone with an incurable condition can identify with at least one aspect of this trio’s situation: In their case, they were willing for their lives to end. And for us, life as we knew or anticipated it is already over.
Maybe it can help to ask ourselves some questions as we read the familiar, favorite story from Daniel 3.
When people are watching, what will they see?
Talk about peer pressure! Scripture says “all the princes, governors, captains, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and rulers of all the provinces of his empire” had gathered for the dedication of Nebuchadnezzar’s 90-foot-tall golden idol. It seems the whole nation knew what was going on. The king’s reputation was on the line; the three faithful Jews had no room to negotiate.
But much of the caregiver’s coping happens where no one is watching. Except a few. Our families know. They and at least some friends will figure out if the love we say we have for the patient and for God is real. They may learn as much from our response to this trial as they did from anything we’ve ever told them or done for them.
When the situation seems hopeless, how will we respond?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied the king’s order to forsake God with words we could copy and frame:
“If we are thrown into the flaming furnace, our God is able to deliver us; and he will deliver us out of your hand, Your Majesty. But if he doesn’t, please understand, sir, that even then we will never under any circumstance serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have erected.”
Let’s put it this way on the plaque we make:
God can save.
God will save.
But even if God decides not to save, we’ll continue to worship him.
Many believers claim faith in God when God is coming through for them. But when they don’t get the job they wanted, or their child disappoints them, or their world is rocked with cancer or a heart attack . . . or Alzheimer’s, they turn away from God.
As we ponder today’s story, we’re left to wonder, Did these three really believe God would save them? Do we really trust he’s with us when our burden seems only to get heavier?
We’re told to look for hope, but sometimes it’s a struggle to find it. The question suggested by this story is, “What do we do then?”
When God intervenes, will we know it’s really him?
In this case, there could be no doubt. After being tossed fully clothed and bound with ropes into the furnace, they got up and walked around. After surviving a maelstrom seven times hotter than usual, so hot it killed those who threw them inside, they came out unscathed. We’d likely believe God was in this if a few of their hairs were singed, if their outer garments were burned away, or if they smelled a little smoky. But here they were as fresh and unflustered as a flower after a shower on a cool spring morning. Only God could do this.
In our world, such miracles may seem not to happen often. We might try to recall even one incident when God’s work seemed so clear to us.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego encourages us to keep watching. Will we be bold enough this week to ask him for help only he can provide?
Read: Daniel 3
Pray: We’re grateful, Lord, that we’re not facing a fate as frightening as that awful fiery furnace. But that doesn’t mean we’re never afraid. That doesn’t mean we’re still not tempted to give up on faith. Forgive us, Lord. Show us your work in our lives as we rededicate them to you once again today.
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