Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king…"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
I cannot think of any text that better exemplifies genuine faith. In the face of agonizing terror and death, these three young men put their trust solely in God. They had no promise of divine intervention, no assurance that God was going to save their lives. They laid it all on the line in obedience to God’s law. They trusted in God’s sovereignty, knowing that He has the power to save them if He so willed.
God did indeed save them from a fiery death in the furnace. Notice how the characteristics of their faith were different from some of the modern conceptions of faith. They were not protected from the flames with positive thinking. They didn’t bind up the flames in the Lord’s name. They didn’t rebuke the fire, inciting the power of God through their magic words. Nor did they stubbornly insist that the flames don’t really exist if they just really, really believe without doubting. They didn’t bargain with God, or make empty vows.
They simply submitted to God in faith, trusting to decree their fate. They placed their confidence and their lives in the hands of the Almighty. This is genuine faith in action.
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