No matter what & 2 life changing words

I read a portion of scripture that totally changed my life many many years ago and it is simply 2 words... but, they have been the most powerful words to transform my walk with God!

In Daniel 3: 1-29 it is an amazing faith lesson of encouraging believers to have an uncompromising trust in God and a passion to stand against adversity. To stand for what you believe knowing that God is in control of the outcome so you can trust him and Him alone.

The 2 words I am talking about are found in verse 18..... "EVEN IF" to me, those words pack a very powerful punch because there are so many times in life where I find that I am tempted to bow to so many things.... sadness, condemnation, gossip, fear, hopelessness wanting to give up,... all of those other things that can become god-like on a throne of our flesh.

In the end we end up bowing down to it and giving in to what our flesh wants to serve - our self! Especially when we have been wronged and feel like we have every right in the world to dislike someone - we can even justify bitterness and un-forgiveness sometimes.

When I find myself in moments of wanting to bow to the things of this world like doubt and discouragment it is always these 2 words that put me back into the position the Word teaches us to take, a place of encouraging myself in the Lord and stirring up the faith within me.

It is the 2 words "EVEN IF" that I hear myself always come back to because I truly believe in my God who is a God of restoration and the holy spirit who is my comforter. I truly believe that if in those moments of utter disbelief and desperation if I can just confess "EVEN IF" it is always followed by me being reminded that even if (insert situation here) I will NEVER serve any other God.

So today I am telling the Lord on this Tuesday.... 12 weeks after the fact that EVEN IF I feel this hurt in my heart from time to time for the rest of my life I will serve you. Even if the situation does not look like I would have like or wanted it to, I will not curse you. Even if we never have the children we so desire - I WILL SERVE YOU. Even if people I have poured my life into walk away like nothing, even if I'm scared sometimes, even if I have days where I feel like I'm running on fumes... I have made a decision........ EVEN IF..... I will bow to no other, I will serve none other than THE MOST HIGH GOD- EVEN IF!!!

For the past few weeks I have been listening to this song over and over because it is such a beautiful song of confession that NO MATTER WHAT, I'M GONNA LOVE my God.

Today on the radio I heard an interview with the girl who sings this song and it turns out that she heard a sermon about the very scripture I am talking about and it so ministered to her that she wrote this song. So it makes sense that the very song that bring so much life and encouragement to me comes from the scripture that brings so much life and encouragement to me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

This song is also the song I played while we wrote the tags we tied to the balloons for the women of destiny meeting.

Hope you enjoy!

Daniel 3

The King's Golden Image

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

²Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

³Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁴Then the herald loudly proclaimed: "To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language,

⁵that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.

⁶"But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire."

⁷Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Worship of the Image Refused

⁸For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews.

⁹They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "O king, live forever!

¹⁰"You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image.

¹¹"But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.

¹²"There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.

¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?

¹⁵"Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?"

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.

¹⁷"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.

¹⁸"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's Friends Protected

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

²⁰He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.

²¹Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

²²For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

²³But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king."

²⁵He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"

²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.

²⁷The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

²⁹"Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way."

³⁰Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

- Even if and no matter what, my God is so good to me.

Missa