And if not, He is still good.
Six months ago, I made this my phone background. I wanted to believe this truth with all my heart. I was pleading with my heart to believe it, looking at my Savior and believing in his perfect goodness. But my eyes kept wavering, I couldn’t help but see the evidence and hear the screaming doubt from my mind.
So I made it my phone background. And every day I unlock my phone and I look at that blissful, peaceful, unrelenting truth and I preach to my heart that it is still true.
Because every day I kept waking up to this fiery furnace of reality and I looked at the flames and said: “My GOD will deliver me from these flames but if not He is still good.”
And the hope is not in the circumstance as those words slip like water over my heart, it is in this God I come to know even more as I put my trust in him.
Because each time I read those words fear loses his power. Each time I let them cycle on repeat around my heart, it becomes a pleading prayer.
I dwell on the “if not.” But God, what if you don’t? What if this fire gets bigger and the flames scorch my skin? What if these wounds that have not yet healed get burned again? What if it is not true? How will I know you are still good?
“He is still good.” What if He is still good? What if I look past the fear and the pain and I see Him. What if everything else fades away because His goodness washes over the bleeding places of me and He reminds me of His promises.
These two conflicting statements are daggers to my heart. One that evokes fear, one that preaches truth. Together, they bring peace. Because it does not matter what is taking place or who is on the line, the only peace is that He is still good. The only peace is that He gives value to those things and those places.
Oh for a heart like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they stared into the flames of a fiery furnace,
"King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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."
They believed and knew that our God was able to deliver them from that place
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 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.”
They believed and knew that our God was able to deliver them from that place of pain and death. They had unconditional faith and belief that He would deliver them from the fire. But even if He didn't, they would not bow.
Even if He does not deliver me from this place, even if the flames continue, even if things do not make sense, I will choose to continue to praise Him. I will continue to look to my God, not turning to fear or other things because I believe in His steadfast, eternal goodness.
My God is able to deliver me from this, but if He chooses not to, He still has my surrender, He still has my heart.
Six months ago, I made this my phone background. I wanted to believe this truth with all my heart. I was pleading with my heart to believe it, looking at my Savior and believing in his perfect goodness. But my eyes kept wavering, I couldn’t help but see the evidence and hear the screaming doubt from my mind.
So I made it my phone background. And every day I unlock my phone and I look at that blissful, peaceful, unrelenting truth and I preach to my heart that it is still true.
Because every day I kept waking up to this fiery furnace of reality and I looked at the flames and said: “My GOD will deliver me from these flames but if not He is still good.”
And the hope is not in the circumstance as those words slip like water over my heart, it is in this God I come to know even more as I put my trust in him.
Because each time I read those words fear loses his power. Each time I let them cycle on repeat around my heart, it becomes a pleading prayer.
I dwell on the “if not.” But God, what if you don’t? What if this fire gets bigger and the flames scorch my skin? What if these wounds that have not yet healed get burned again? What if it is not true? How will I know you are still good?
“He is still good.” What if He is still good? What if I look past the fear and the pain and I see Him. What if everything else fades away because His goodness washes over the bleeding places of me and He reminds me of His promises.
These two conflicting statements are daggers to my heart. One that evokes fear, one that preaches truth. Together, they bring peace. Because it does not matter what is taking place or who is on the line, the only peace is that He is still good. The only peace is that He gives value to those things and those places.
Oh for a heart like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they stared into the flames of a fiery furnace,
"King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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."
They believed and knew that our God was able to deliver them from that place
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 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.”
They believed and knew that our God was able to deliver them from that place of pain and death. They had unconditional faith and belief that He would deliver them from the fire. But even if He didn't, they would not bow.
Even if He does not deliver me from this place, even if the flames continue, even if things do not make sense, I will choose to continue to praise Him. I will continue to look to my God, not turning to fear or other things because I believe in His steadfast, eternal goodness.
My God is able to deliver me from this, but if He chooses not to, He still has my surrender, He still has my heart.
