Good morning people whose greatest confidence is in the goodness of God.

Sometimes our trust in God is connected to or limited by the outcomes of our situations. If God comes through, we will trust Him. If He doesn’t, well that’s a different story.

But I am reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In the face of imminent death, they made one of the most profound and faith-filled statements in the Bible. Here’s what they said:

Daniel 3:17-18 NIV  “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

WOW! They declared, “God is able to deliver us, God will deliver us, but even if He does not deliver us, we will still honour God!”

Bold! Courageous! Dangerous! And very pleasing to the Father!

You might argue that it turned out alright for them. I agree. But they didn’t know that at the time! And nor did Daniel in the lion’s den, or Joseph in the pit, or Esther in the King’s throne room, or David in the cave.

We must not lose the power of the incredible steps of faith by men and women in the Bible because we know the outcome of their stories. They didn’t know the outcome when they made their decisions!

And also don’t forget that many lost their lives, including Jesus and most of His disciples.

Yet God is greater than outcomes, including death!

Paul writes it powerfully for us all to follow:

Philippians 1:20 NIV I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.