Journal Entry ~ 02/21/18

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." - Daniel 3:16-18

There are times that our faith will be tested, and in those moments we will either grow deeper in our faith or we will grow bitter towards God. When we are on our knees, begging God to keep us from the fire, to stop something we fear may happen in our lives from happening, those are the moments our faith is tested. Perhaps we’re praying the diagnosis doesn’t come because we don’t want to walk through treatment, perhaps we’re praying the layoff doesn’t include us because we don’t have the money, perhaps it’s a child or loved one we pray never walks away from the Lord because we couldn’t handle the heartache. And then it happens. The very thing you’ve asked God not to let happen in your life is now in front of you. How do you respond?

Rack, Shack, and Benny asked God to deliver them from the burning, fiery furnace. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.”  They believed He would keep them from the fire. But their next words are critical to the peace you find when God opens the furnace in front of you. “But if not.”  They firmly believed whatever God had for them was for their good - whether God chose to put the fire out or He chose to walk them into the fire. 

But if not. I’ve had the fiery furnace opened up in my life more times than I can count when I’ve specifically asked Him to keep it closed. Sometimes it is His will that I walk through the fire because He has something in the fire for me. What I’ve found is critical to my peace is how I pray - if I pray for His will to be done in my life even when my heart is begging for a specific solution, it’s easier to accept what He has for me. 

I remember my prayer times over this cancer diagnosis very clearly at the beginning - sitting in the chair before I even had the second mammogram, I remember the peace that washed over me when I prayed for His will over mine. After the diagnosis, I prayed pretty intently for no chemo, but again - I remember the sense of overwhelming calmness that He brought to my heart in the days before they told me I needed chemo because I continued to pray for His will in my diagnosis and treatment. 

We can go to our Father with any request, but we must always remember to submit to His will in our lives, trusting and knowing that His plan is ultimately for our good. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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