It was a crisis that required an extremely costly choice. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon commanded everyone to bow down to his statue of pure gold. Three Hebrew young men refused, enraging the king. He demanded that they bow down to his idol and threatened to throw them into a furnace of blazing fire if they persisted in refusing. Despite the threat of death, the three young men remained steadfastly faithful, replying, “Our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up” (Dan. 3:17, 18, NASB).
Notice those amazing words, “even if He does not.” Although they knew God possessed the power to deliver them, they also recognized that He might not do so. In the end, God did save them. They were hurled into the fiery furnace, but God protected them so that they were completely unharmed. Even “the hair of their head was not singed” (verse 27). And while only three men were cast into the furnace, the king saw four “men” in the furnace, “and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (verse 25). God did not leave them alone. God was with them and protected His faithful servants from harm.
You Will Have Trouble, but Take Hope
Deliverance, however, does not always come in this life. Even when deliverance does not come here and now, though, we should remember that just as there was a fourth one in that furnace with the three Hebrew youths, God is always with His faithful people. He will never leave nor forsake His people (Deut. 31:6; Heb. 13:5).
This promise is sure. But it does not guarantee deliverance from the hardships and sufferings of this life. In fact, often God’s faithful servants face the opposite. And this should come as no surprise. Christ Himself foretold to His followers: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33)—a promise we often like to forget. Many faithful servants of God, including James, John the Baptist, and even Jesus, were martyred for their faith.
Nevertheless, even if deliverance does not come in this earthly life, ultimate deliverance will come for all who call on the name of the Lord—in the world to come. Further, Jesus did not only foretell “In the world you will have tribulation,” but He immediately added, “But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Even in the midst of suffering, even if it seems deliverance will never come, even if it seems as if things will never get better, even if it seems as if there is no light at the end of the tunnel, “be of good cheer.”
Take hope. God will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). Whatever suffering or hardship you or your loved ones are facing now, this is not the end of the story.
In a less-than-humane experiment many decades ago, a scientist placed wild rats in jars filled with water to test how long they would swim before giving up. Though known to have strong swimming skills, the wild rats lasted only a few minutes before giving up and drowning.
In a follow-up experiment the scientist rescued the rats around the time they typically gave up, dried them off, held them for a while, then placed them back in the water. This time, however, the rescued rats continued to swim, not for minutes, or even for an hour, but for tens of hours.1
Hope. The power of hope. When the rats believed rescue might come, the rats persevered far beyond anything that seemed possible. When we trust that God will ultimately deliver us, we can also endure far more than we think possible.
God’s promises are sure. Accordingly, even amid the fire, we are called to persevere in faith and prayer.
Even if our prayers are not immediately answered, if we place our confidence in Christ we can be confident that God will help us. Even if it seems as if darkness surrounds on all sides, help is on the way. Even if deliverance does not come here and now, it will come when Christ returns, and all wrongs will be set right forevermore. In this and other regards, hope and faith are integrally connected. Hope involves belief and trust that deliverance is possible, even if it seems very unlikely or distant.
God’s promises are sure. Accordingly, even amid the fire, we are called to persevere in faith and prayer. Jesus Himself taught regarding how we “always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Likewise, Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).
Persevering in prayer even in the darkest times is a testament of faith in God, a sign of allegiance to the true king even if the path ahead is shrouded in darkness, even if it seems as if the enemy is winning.2 We know the end of the story. Christ triumphs, and all who are in Christ by faith will also be victorious in Him if only we do not lose hope and cling to Him. Though the fulfillment of God’s promises might seem to tarry, “wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Hab. 2:3). “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Pain in the Process
Sometimes, though, what God works to bring about for our good hurts in the process, not because God desires to hurt us, but because we are entangled in sin and evil in the midst of a cosmic conflict.
Have you ever seen a dog who had an unfortunate encounter with a porcupine, ending up with countless quills stuck in its snout? There is no way to help this dog get those quills out without causing more pain. In fact, a porcupine’s quills are filled with backward-facing barbs, so pulling them out hurts a great deal more than they hurt going in. To pull them out inevitably causes more pain. In a sense, we are all stuck with the quills of the evil one, and sometimes painful remedies are needed to deliver us.
To take another example, consider someone whose heart has stopped beating. A medical professional is on the scene and, of course, performs CPR. But in many cases effective CPR will require breaking the ribs of the patient. Yet doing so is the only way to save that person. In somewhat similar ways, at times the only avenues available to God to save and deliver us require pain in the short term. God does not want us to suffer, but we are entangled with sin, a bit like being stuck with porcupine quills.
We live in enemy territory, and the enemy seeks to destroy our faith and our hope. But there is good news. God stands with us amid every trial. Indeed, God intercedes for us and will ensure in the end that we are victorious. Christ is “able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).
Think of the case of Job. The enemy afflicted him deeply, and Job suffered great loss and personal suffering. Yet despite his profound suffering, Job held on to hope and declared, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last, He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:25, 26, NASB).
Like Job, we might also cry out to God in our distress, while at the same time maintaining hope and trusting that God will provide ultimate deliverance.
The Victory Assured
Even in the darkest situations, hope can persist. Now we dwell in enemy territory, but the devil “knows that he has a short time” (Rev. 12:12). Christ’s victory is assured, as is yours if are in Christ by faith.
Thus, Paul teaches, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38, 39). And just a few verses earlier in Romans 8, Paul assured those who suffer that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (verse 18).
In the end God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4, NASB; cf. Rev. 15:3, 4). Until that day comes, I want to encourage you to hold fast to the hope that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Like the three faithful Hebrew youths before Nebuchadnezzar, we do not know whether God will rescue us from what ails us now, in this life, but we can be sure that rescue will come to all who place their faith in Christ. One day soon all suffering and pain and darkness will be over forevermore. As we await that day, we might also pray:
“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me” (Ps. 31:1-3).
1 These 1950s experiments are recounted in Joseph T. Hallinan, “The Remarkable Power of Hope,” Psychology Today, May 7, 2014, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/kidding-ourselves/201405/the-remarkable-power-hope, accessed May 10, 2023.
2 For much more on this and the theology of prayer, see John C. Peckham, Why We Pray: Understanding Prayer in the Context of Cosmic Conflict (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2024), chap. 6.