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Jun 23, 2024 06:00am

Even If

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Lord, take away the pain. Heal my broken heart. Do a mighty work. Remove my cancer. Lord, get me out of this pit. Save my marriage. Return my prodigal. Reconcile a broken relationship. Open a door. Fix this situation. Pour out Your blessings.

I’ve prayed some of those prayers; maybe you have too. Praying to the God of Heaven who attends to our prayers and hears us in our times of trouble is the best thing we can do. We are told to cast all our cares on the Lord because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). But what happens when you’ve prayed and prayed and prayed yet, there seems to be no answer.

Recently while visiting with a friend, the conversation turned serious. “Pray for me. I am one catastrophe away from deconstructing my faith and walking away.” This was shocking to me because I’ve heard of many who claim to have walked away from the faith, but I’ve never visited with one considering it. Immediately dozens of thoughts jumped through my head. I thought of Jesus’ words about our secure salvation in John 10:28 when He said, “I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Then I remembered John’s words in his epistle about those who thought they were believers but were never truly saved. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us,” 1 John 2:19.

There were many directions I could have taken with this friend, but in the split second I had, I turned to this thought and said to him. “What you must decide is, even if God never gave you another thing or did anything for you again, is He still worthy of worship?”

Every child of God will face troubles and trials in this life. Jesus spoke to this when He said in this world, we would have tribulation (John 16:33). Sometimes it seems like life is one catastrophe after another. And people often question why God allows it. People wonder why He allows death, broken relationships, shut doors, loss of a home, job, wealth, or prestige. Here’s the truth. Our God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and Sovereign Lord over all, owns it all. This world is His. Our lives are His. Time, seasons, and everything is His. He cannot take away from us what belongs to Him. Therefore, what He gives us is from His love, grace, and mercy. But, even if God never gave us another thing, He is still worthy of worship, love, and obedience.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (later named Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego) understood this. In the book of Daniel, we read of the Jews living in exile in Babylon. Around 600 BC these young men, along with Daniel, were taken to Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar’s orders. Some years later Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden statue and orders everyone to worship it or be thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel Chapter 3). These young men, knowing the commandments of God to not bow down to any graven image refused to do so. When threatened again, they answered the King saying that they would not bow down no matter what. They told him that God was able to deliver them out of the fire, but even if God did not, they would not worship the golden image.

For the Christian, there are certain non-negotiables in life. Even if God doesn’t answer in the way I want Him to, even if I don’t understand, even if life is hard, even if He takes something away, He is still worthy of worship. But here is the great news. He gives us so much! He gave Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego deliverance from the fiery furnace. And all throughout the Bible we read the accounts of God giving abundantly to His people. He answered prayers. He healed sicknesses. He parted waters. He freed His people. He raised the dead and so much more. Today, He continues to give. We don’t deserve any of it, yet in His love, grace, and mercy He pours out life and blessings for our good and His glory. Even if we don’t always understand, He is worthy of worship!