Our God is Able

Lately I have beeen meditating frequently on several verses in Daniel. I was reading a blog of another Mom who recently discovered she is pregnant with a baby with spina bifida. I was challenged by her thoughts from Daniel.

I've heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego my whole life. You know, the guys who were thrown into the fiery furnace and survived. But, recently their words right before they were thrown in the furnace have stuck with me.

In Daniel 3 Nebuchadnezzar is furious that they won't bow to his statue. He says to them, you realize if you do not worship the idol I have set up that you will be thrown into the fiery furnace. He follows that statement with a question that I'm sure was meant to be rhetorical. "Then what God will be able to save you from my hand?"

However, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are bold enough to answer that question. They know THE God that can save them from the angry, arrogant King. Their response is what challenges me. Daniel 3:17-18 records their response, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O King. But, even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

It is the "but..." that follows that I contemplate. Yes, my God it able. My God is able to heal Melody from spina bifida and the physical challenges she faces. But, even if He has not, even if He does not. I will still serve Him. Before Melody's birth we prayed for healing. We hoped the doctors were wrong, despite excellent medical care. I know there was a certain knot in my stomach feeling when I saw her spinal lesion for the first time and realized it was really real and God wasn't choosing to heal it. Yes, my God is able to heal, but so far he hasn't chosen to heal her completely.

It is easy to serve God when things turn out the way they I want. Yet, will I serve Him when I don't understand why? Will I serve him "even if He does not?" I believe the three men in Daniel were willing to serve God either way. That is called faith. Will I trust that God has a plan for Melody's life and my life that includes spina bifida? Will I choose to believe that she is "fearfully and wonderfully made" even if she doesn't meet the world's standard of physical perfection?

The God I serve is able. But, even if He does not, yet will I serve him.