“If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.” Daniel 3:17-18
New English Translation
It’s often that we do something for something else we want in return. Admit it, I’m sure you’ve done it recently, even if in the most innocent of ways. Yet, the problem with that is that we get so much in the habit of doing it that we start doing it to God, too. You ever have one of those “friends” who only ever did nice things or helped you out when they’d get something out of it? Those kinda people are no fun to be around, plus they suck the life out of people!
So, if we don’t like it when people do that to us, how come we tend to be perfectly okay with doing that to God? How many times have we prayed the “Lord, if you do this for me, then I’ll always serve you” prayer? However, in Daniel 3, we see something remarkable. Those men were faced with the punishment of death for defying the King’s orders, orders which would have required they sin against God. Nonetheless, they stand before the King and tell him that God can rescue them, but even if He doesn’t, they’re still going to serve God!
Can you imagine how much different, stronger even, our faith would be if we decided right here and now that even if we didn’t get what we wanted, we would still serve God? Think about the underground churches. I’m sure there are a million things that they could ask for, wish for even. Safety, the ability to worship in public, prosperity, etc. Yet, even when those things don’t happen, when they’re risking their lives simply by adoring the name of God, they by their lifestyle are saying that God can rescue them, but even if He doesn’t, they are going to serve Him anyways.
Sometimes, I think Americans have it too easy. 9 times out of 10 we can worship without fear of persecution, fear of death. Still, we lack much of the dedication found in people risking everything just to spend an hour with people of God. In American, sometimes people treat church like a chore, like it’s a burden or second thought even. The true gift of getting to worship before the Lord can be lost when it’s so easily given in comfort.
I don’t want to live my life just drifting by expecting a transactional agreement with God. Instead, I want to live declaring that even if I don’t get what I want, I will still serve the Lord. That could mean that we don’t get the raise we want, the job we want, the food we want, the house or car we want, the grades we want, and so much more. Yet, even if we don’t get any of that, we still have God. What more could we possibly ask for?