"But if not...(Daniel 3:18)

Sometimes things don't go as we plan...I recently had a second shoulder surgery, definitely not planned. I had surgery for a shoulder injury back in April, and the recovery was long and painful. To have a second surgery, for a different injury, just a day before leaving town was not in my plans. Due to insurance and timing, it was needed before we left town. I had a day to organize things for the surgery, be ready for Christmas, and ready to leave town. It isn't life threatening or even long term life changing, but it is a pain (in the shoulder) and has caused me to ponder strong examples of enduring and going forward with faith, even being put into a fiery furnace.

I have to ask, am I even near to what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were like? Have I been threatened by a "burning fiery furnace" (Daniel 3:6)? I think there are times when we are all forced to choose between standing up for what is right and being faced with a fiery furnace or perhaps, just being thrown into what seems like a fire of uncontrollable height and heat. I wonder if I am able to respond as they did, "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up" (Daniel 3:17-18). The "but if not" is what challenges me to try and stand strong no matter what the outcome is to be, even if the only thing that I can do is to have a positive attitude during a difficult time.

Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were saved. But that isn't always the case- think of Abinadi (see Mosiah 17:20). Sometimes things don't go the way we plan. Sometimes we are allowed to be "in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10), and honestly, I don't like being in that furnace. It is just not where I like to spend my time. But it happens to all of us and no one is exempt. I think the real trial is whether or not we will endure to the end, no matter how hot the fire really is or if we are saved from the fire. It's the "but if not" part that is the real test.

Elder Dennis E.Simmons (former member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy) shared this thought about "but if not": "Our God will deliver us from ridicule and persecution, but if not, ...Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not, ...He will deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not, ...Our God will deliver us from threats accusations, and insecurity, but if not, ...He will deliver us from death and impairment of loved ones, but if not, ...we will trust in the Lord. Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but if not, ..." (But If Not...).

This is a lot to ponder. Add your own "but if not". How will you respond if you lose your ability to write, or use a limb, or am limited by your health? How will you respond if you lose a loved one, a child, or get divorced unexpectedly? We all have our "but if not..." moments. God doesn't love one person above another because they go through these afflictions or have none. God "loveth our souls as well as He loveth our children" (see Alma 24:14). God really wants us to be like him (see Matt. 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48 ) "that we may be purified even as He is pure" (Moroni 7:48). And as a loving Father in Heaven, he lets us endure and go through our own "fiery furnace of affliction" or perhaps we can call them mini Gethsemane's. The Lord says, "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10). Notice, He doesn't say, next to the the furnace, or beside it. He says, "in the furnace of affliction".

You know, this was a major inconvenience to have to go through a second shoulder surgery, especially with the timing of everything, but I do know that all things work together for our good (see D&C 100:15). God loves us! He will help us in all things, even when they don't turn out like we think they should...the "but if not" makes all the difference. This I testify.

Thumbs up- with the nurse and aid who helped me before the "fiery furnace" of shoulder surgery, 2nd one in a year

Yup, that's how I do it, prior to entering "the furnace"

Goofing off with my son after the surgery...(pain medicine is very helpful but only a temporary solution)