On Fire for God

On Fire for God

by Grant Gaines

In 1297 at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in Stirling, Scotland, a small band of volunteer Scottish soldiers opposed the ferocious English army. Outnumbered 13,000 to 2,300 (or 5 to 1), many of the Scottish soldiers began to leave their ranks, opting to go home instead of fighting.

Noticing his countrymen’s fear and unwillingness to fight, as the movie Bravehaert depicts the story, a relatively young and unknown warrior in the Scottish army named William Wallace gave a speech to infuse courage into the Sons of Scotland and change the course of Scottish history. In his speech, Wallace points out that there are only two choices for the Scots. They could either surrender, go home, and live long lives as slaves to England or they could stand firm and fight for freedom though it may cost them their lives.

As the movie continues, the Scots rally around Wallace’s words and fend off the English to remain a free country throughout Wallace’s lifetime.

Assuming William Wallace was a Christian, I like to think he got the inspiration for his moving speech from a popular Bible story. In Daniel 3, we find the well-known story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the “heated” discussion with the king and the ensuing life or death decision they had to make.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon made a decree that whenever music was played, all the citizens were to stop what they were doing and, “…worship the image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar [had] set up” (Daniel 3:5, NIV). If anyone disobeyed this command, they would, “…immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace” (Daniel 3:6, NIV). Pretty clear instructions, right?

However, determined not to bow to anything other than the true God, when music began to fill the air for the first time, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bend their knees to this image. Enraged by their disobedience, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned the three men and stated his command along with its consequences one last time.

At this point in time, much like the Scots at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had an “either/or” decision to make. They could either follow the king’s decree by worshipping this idol or they could stand firm in their devotion to God and be thrown into the fiery furnace as their punishment.

Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV, bold mine) records Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s decision and response to the king’s ultimatum. “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.”

You know the rest of the story. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into the blazing furnace, God rescues them, and King Nebuchadnezzar ends up worshiping the one true God. Much like your typical Disney movie, we see a happy ending to the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But I want to focus your attention on the three men’s faith rather than the outcome. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had an “even if” faith. In Daniel 3:18 (NIV) they told King Nebuchadnezzar that even if God did not rescue them, they were willing to die for Him. This “even if” faith is contrasted with what the majority of Christians today have – an “only if” faith.

“I will serve God only if He gives me a job, a spouse, good health, a hefty bank account…etc.” Have you met these types of people? Jesus certainly did. We see Jesus turn away the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22 because he was willing to follow Jesus only if he could keep his riches. In Matthew 8:18-22 we see Jesus turn away two prospective followers because they wanted to follow Jesus only if they could have a comfortable future and first take care of business at home. Once again, in John 6:60-66 we see Jesus turn away many disciples because they wanted to follow Jesus only if He would lighten His demands and standards.

I should warn you that the danger in reading about this type of faith is to think to yourself, “I really wish my husband/wife/daughter/neighbor/cousin/co-worker/or whoever could read this blog,” when in reality the question we need to all be asking ourselves is, “Am I an ‘even if’ or an ‘only if’ follower of Christ?”

So let me ask you, do you follow God only in the good times when the sun is shining and all is as it should be? Or are you willing to say along with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that even if God doesn’t bring my prodigal child back to me, even if God doesn’t take away my cancer, or even if God should take away everything I own—every single blessing, I have made up my mind to say along with Job, “…The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21, NIV)?

What is your response going to be to life’s fiercest storms? You must make up your mind now to have an “even if” faith, because if you don’t, you are by default opting for an “only if” faith. Oh for grace to trust Him more!

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©Grant Gaines 2013