14 Days of Strength in Any StruggleBeispiel

And Even If He Does Not by Michele Cushatt

Why does God deliver some miracles and seemingly withhold others?

I’ve been fighting cancer on and off for thirteen years now. This is my longest stretch without a recurrence, and for that, I’m thankful. But I live with the pain and disability of a body that’s been ravaged by disease and the treatments to overcome it. Some days, I question even while I give thanks: Why the many years of suffering?

I find great comfort in an old story of three men in the book of Daniel. Faced with being burned alive in a furnace for refusing to worship false gods and a pagan king, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to choose: denounce their confidence in the one true God or believe Him one more time. They declared, Our God is able, and He will deliver . . . But even if He does not. . . .

Hidden in these two phrases is my secret for making peace with the prayers that are answered and those that are not. I don’t doubt God’s ability. He can make tumors disappear, bring prodigals home, and heal broken marriages. He can make a way where there is no way, and He has done so more times than you and I know.

But even if He does not, He is still worthy of my worship. I trust Him in the healing and the absence of it. I trust Him in the answers and the questions.

Why? Because I need Him more than I need healing. The object of my affection and worship isn’t this body, this life. It’s the face of the One who saved me.

Keep praying, my friends. Keep asking, seeking, knocking, and believing with great boldness and confidence. Our God is able to deliver you. But even if He does not, remember: what you and I need most is not the thing we’re praying for but the One we’re praying to.

[God] 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. DANIEL 3:17-18 NIV

Where are you finding God’s strength today?