Suffering happens to everyone. It happens to the sinner, the saint, and it was endured by the Savior. Suffering came into the world because of sin. The devil used sin to bring suffering. God used the suffering of Jesus to bring salvation to mankind. Today, God, through our suffering, purifies our faith and glorifies his name. 

Great faith in God doesn’t make us immune to suffering. Sometimes God delivers us from a fiery furnace; other times he makes us fireproof. We have to have faith in God’s power to deliver us from sickness, suffering, and pain. Our faith can’t be in healing but in the Healer. We must rest our faith in God not in answers to our prayers.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith that God was able to deliver them and that he would deliver them. Faith believes that God is able and that God will. But they also had “but if not” faith. “But if not” faith is faith that is in God even if we don’t get what we pray for, even if things don’t turn out as we expect them to turn out. “But if not” faith says, “I will continue to worship God even if things don’t turn out as I hoped for.” 

Many people have faith in things but not in God. They believe in healing. They believe in miracles. They believe in answers to prayers. That kind of faith fails when those miracles don’t come.  The three Hebrew men had faith in God; therefore, if deliverance didn’t come, their love and worship wouldn’t change. 

The Apostle Paul had the same faith. When he was suffering, he said, “I know whom I have believed.” For Paul, faith was not just something he believed in, it was Someone he believed in. Our faith is not in the faith itself, but our faith is in God himself. 

Today’s Confession:
1. My God is able to deliver me, and he will deliver me.
2. My faith is not in faith but in God.
3. Even if I don’t see what I hope for, I will still trust and worship my God.

Scripture to Meditate:
Daniel 3:17-18
1 Corinthians 3:9-10
2 Timothy 1:12

This blog was written by Vladimir Savchuk.

Pastor Vlad is the lead pastor of Hungry Generation Church, an author of “Break Free” and “Single, Ready to Mingle” and a founder of free online school “Vlad’s School.” To download free e-books, sermon series, small group study guides go to vladimirsavchuk.com