But If Not
You might have noticed the new look to the blog, a new picture and a new name. The address is still the same, I just changed the Title from Jackie’s place, to But If Not.
The But If Not stems from a chapel that one of my professors did while I was at college. He told a story that I really don’t remember at all, I believe it had to do with a British soldier who sent those three words as his reply to some sort of threat. The But if Not in this case was taken from the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo, in Daniel chapter 3. Even though I do not remember the story that my professor shared that day I remember that what he said changed my understanding of this story completely.
I had always seen the story of the firey furnace as a great story of faith, which it is. I had, however, always looked at it as though if you have faith in God he will deliever you from whatever comes your way. This approach is a little bit flawed though, because what happens when you put your faith in God and he doesn’t deliver you from the “fire”?
I learned that day that the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo, is very much a story of faith. It is a story of faith because of the But If Not. These 3 men were willing to walk into a fiery furnace, not knowing if God would deliver them from it. They had a choice, they could bow down to the idol that the king had set up, or they could face the possibility of a painful death. They still chose to serve God, no matter what. God can deliver us from this, but if not, we will still serve him!
Sometimes when the “fire” comes our way our immediate response is to question God and get angry with him for not “delivering” us from our circumstances. I hope that in the future for me my response will always be to serve God and not to bow down to any idols that the world demands. The God we serve can deliver us from all adversity, but if not….I choose to serve God, how about you?
May 7, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I was somewhat confused when I read this title, but understand it once I read the blog.
Who would have thought that three little words could mean so much. When I hear a story like that it gives me a push.
Like you said, when the fire comes my way, I need to remember who I serve and that he’s not far away from me.
Just as my hurt over doing nothing last night, I could use that. “Help me out here Lord, but if not I still serve you”.
I felt so helpless and scared for this boy and I felt like God left me on my own for that moment. I was so angry and thought “what’s the point”, but I didn’t give in to those feelings. I serve God and he holds me up. If not for him I could’ve been me on that ledge.
Your blog helps me in so many ways Jackie. Thank you for being you and for writing your thoughts down, so people like me have hope.