“He is Enough”
Please enjoy and meditate on “He is Enough,” from the pen of Pastor Phil Newton of the South Woods Baptist Church of Memphis, Tn. It is brought to you by The Inverted Christian @ https://www.invertedchristian.com/post/stand-still-and-hear-the-voice-of-the-lord-god
“He is Enough”
Is He Enough for You?
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of 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 or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16–18).
No one can doubt the ruthlessness and arrogance of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. This man, even in the early days of his reign, conquered kingdoms—including Judah—and established himself as absolute authority over everyone in his realm. With much audacity and force, he not only subdued nations but commanded that only the large golden image he set up, be worshiped at the sound of any musical instrument. With music being the typical practice in daily life, it meant that those in his realm would regularly pause to bow and worship the image. Chaos must have ensued even for ordinary idolaters who were forced to worship another image. As brilliant an administrator as he was, the spirit of the world worked deeply in Nebuchadnezzar’s thinking. A statue ninety feet tall that he ordered to be made and erected would become the national god that would receive Babylon’s homage. Despite its size and obvious expense, this image couldn’t see, hear, touch, or feel the worshipful acts of forced devotees. Without trying to over press the scene, it’s not difficult to see how the power and expectation of this despot convinced the people that this was their god, lifeless as it was. Might not the same spirit of the world form various gods in our day that unthinking people are pressed to worship?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, Daniel’s three friends, stood faithful to the Lord God before the godless despot. “If it be so,” they told him, when Nebuchadnezzar demanded they submit to his religiously forced order, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire.” What! A God more powerful than this tyrant upon Babylon’s throne? Yes! He is able. He is enough. Would He deliver them? They didn’t know if the Lord would be pleased to immediately keep them from the flames or bring them home into His presence. But they did understand that ultimately, “He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” The king was powerful but not sovereign. That designation belongs only to the Lord our God. He has the final word.
Faith doesn’t mean, as the three young men demonstrated, that we determine the detailed outcome of what God must do to demonstrate His divine authority for us. Rather, to have faith in the Lord God means that we rely upon Him even when our prerogatives are not met; we rest in His wisdom and goodness above our desires; we find refuge in Him and the eternal promises secured through His Son’s work on the cross and declared fulfilled by His resurrection. Faith clings to the One who upholds us even when facing the harshest foes. “But even if He does not,” they told the king, not with wavering faith but solid faith that depended upon the goodness and promises of the Lord to His people. Yes, faith expects, asks, and believes, but in grander way, depends on the Lord’s wise, good will to be unfolded. “Let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” The Lord alone is God. Faith sets heart, eyes, ambitions, and all of the details of existence now and forever, into His gracious care. Faith leans into Him. Faith finds Him sufficient. Faith drinks deeply of His goodness. He is enough, faith declares. Fiery furnaces come and go. But the all-sufficient Lord who conquered sin and death, along with every despot that rears his head, remains faithful. Faith relies on the Lord, whether in the fire or out of it. He is enough.