but if not…
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18
“butifnot” has been our e-mail address for as long as I can remember. We set it up when we got our first computer – a MAC – about 20 years ago.
I’m sure you are all familiar with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar built an image of gold and commanded that everyone would fall down and worship it. Whoever would not fall down and worship it would be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship, so they were brought before the king. When he asked them,
“But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” Daniel 3:15b
Their first reply was a statement of faith in God,
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” Daniel 3:17
That in itself is quite remarkable, but their next words in verse 18 go beyond that,
“But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
What they were saying is – we know our God is able to deliver us. But even if He doesn’t we will still not bow down to your idol.
These verses became especially meaningful to us during the 3 ½ years our son Eric was treated for leukemia. We knew that our God was able to deliver us and save our son from this disease. But it was an ongoing challenge to say in our hearts, “but if not”; but even if He doesn’t we will continue to trust in our God.”
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3 Comments
James Joyce
A most informative guide on leukemia, thank you, it has provided me with some comfort
zeett
Good site!!!
Cathy Nagle
O, Thank you for sharing what that means, why you use these words as your email name. That is really, really good. I will be following the upcoming posts you share on the battle your son battling leukemia with great interest.
Love, Cathy