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even if he does not rescue us

Daniel 3:16-18 (JDV)

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question.
Daniel 3:17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king.
Daniel 3:18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

even if he does not rescue us

“In spite of the threat that (the three protesters) would be thrown into a fiery furnace, they remained true to their God. They told the king that they were sure their God would save them from the fiery furnace, “but if not” (Daniel 3: 18) they would still keep their faith. “But if not,” these three words are sublime and mighty words in the Bible. They denote an unswerving faith. Faith in God does not mean an insurance against calamity. There may come a time to every one of us when nothing but unquestioning fidelity will keep us with God. Like a bolt from the blue, a calamity may strike us and we may find ourselves dismayed. God does not always deliver us from the fiery furnace of pain and suffering. But He does give us courage to stand the “fire,” and to win spiritual victory” (Osumi, 17).

Osumi Paul S. God in the Desert: One Minute Sermons for Devotional Reading. Publisher Not Identified. 1940.