Does God Exist?

Daniel 3:12-18

12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—and these men have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.” 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage demanded that they bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected? 15 Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must bow down and pay homage to the statue that I had made. If you don’t pay homage to it, you will immediately be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, “We do not need to give you a reply concerning this. 17 If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well. 18 But if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

After discussing the importance of FAITH with a friend, the Lord led me to Daniel 3:12-18. Not knowing what exactly He was going to reveal, I read through my trusty NLT multiple times with no true revelation. I was wondering if there was something I could be missing due to the translation and glanced at the coffee table where my NET lay. One time through and THERE IT WAS - revelation from the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord for His Word, Truth, and Power to speak to us.

Here is what I learned from this experience:

1. Don’t be afraid to DIG DEEP into the Word of God. YES God speaks through His word, no matter what version you read, where you read it, or how you do it (phone, book, etc.). BUT there is importance in translation and the root of the words God chose to include in His Word of Truth. A lot of that is missing from certain translations, which is why it is important to dig deep. God can reveal so much when we humble ourselves, sit for that extra minute, and listen/read.

2. Empty yourself of ALL preconceived ideas, past teachings you have held onto as truth (without asking the Lord about) and GO TO HIM FIRST. There are many things that I have learned since I was a child (I actually just talked through this a bit with my parents this weekend on how we all grew up believing one thing but questioning if it was really truth). Anyway - we all cling to things and trust them without always taking them up with the Lord. When you get a slight hesitation in your heart/spirit about something, don’t write it off. Ask God questions and He WILL reveal to you HIS meaning in it. Be open to letting God be your teacher in your quiet time with Him. It can be scary at first to not have someone teaching/preaching audibly, but when you are totally open to the Holy Spirit, amazing revelation, healing, and more happens!

Daniel 3:12-18 REVEALED!

• In the first few verses, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are: found out for not worshiping the gold statue, confronted by the king, and ordered to be thrown into the furnace.

• Verse 15 - king Nebuchadnezzar says “Now, who is that god who can rescue you from my power?”

• In verses 16-17, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are responding to king Nebuchadnezzar. The three men are responding to the king’s statement when they say “if our God whom we are serving EXISTS…“

• Then in verse 18 they say “but if he does not...“ (insert EXIST).

I’ve heard it taught (and interpreted this myself) that the “if he does not” is in relation to the possibility of God not saving them from the fire.” BUT what if, “if he does or doesn’t” is in relation to God EXISTING (v.17) in response to the King (v.16)? Meaning they KNOW their God exists so there is no doubting possible. In return, they also KNOW their God WILL rescue them from the fiery furnace.

This brought such revelation to me today! It solidified what I already know about God and how He cares for His children. He is a good God, who is able and ready to rescue us. There is not only no doubting His existence but also His faithfulness in saving in a time of need.

If nothing else, I pray that this little testimony brought encouragement to your spirit that YOU too can glean from the Word of God. He can and will speak to you too and show you incomprehensible things that can only be understood by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you’re wondering about something, hoping for a deeper understanding of a scripture or theme in the Bible, or you need a boost of hope from your Heavenly Father, sit and listen and be willing to dig deep into the Bible while being open to the Holy Spirit’s leading. He will meet you there!