Daniel 3:26-27 -- On Faith and Consequences

"Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them."
Daniel 3:26-27


What struck me today about these verses is that the men that were thrown in the fire were unaffected by it, even to the point of them not smelling like fire... and it made me think that God can give us that power as well... to be unaffected by the "fiery darts" (Ephesians 6:16, 1 Nephi 15:24, D&C 3:8, 27:17) that fly at us from those who would try to destroy our faith. I also always really like the "but if not" in verse 18 of this chapter. They knew that God could save them, but also understood that he might not. God loves us all the time, but he doesn't save us all the time... and we aren't always going to know why. Sometimes it is a lesson for us, sometimes for someone else, and sometimes maybe it needs to happen to set something up years later. We don't know, but God does. I think the cool trick in these verses is not making the "but if not" into a doubt that actually erodes our faith, but instead stand firm, as these men did, knowing that God could save them, but if he didn't, that was the way it was supposed to be, and either way, they wouldn't deny him. Today, let's be firm in our dedication to God, no matter what kinds of external threats there are to our well-being, physically or spiritually. Let's remember that God can save us from being affected by external evils if we turn to him in faith (and don't go and welcome them into our lives, of course). And even if not, things will work out if we stay on the Lord's side and do what is right regardless of the fear of what other people will do.