We live in an age of anxiety. Family pocketbooks and calendars are stretched to the breaking point. We worry for our children, then worry our children worry too much. We fear for the integrity of the church, for the political fabric of our society; we fear wars and pestilence, climate change and social change—and then we add anxiety atop anxiety, worrying about things over which we have little or no control.
The media landscape makes matters worse. Blazing headlines about crises scroll across our computer screens and mobile phones. Loudness is lucrative. Panic is profitable. Viciousness goes viral. We find ourselves in a public square filled with caricature artists and conflict entrepreneurs, fear peddlers and scorn merchants who flood the marketplace with counterfeits that make them rich and bankrupt the culture.
There are genuine causes for anxiety. But Scripture provides perspective.
For as long as I can remember, my favorite part of the biblical story of the fiery furnace has been what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said before they were thrown into the flames. Hauled in front of Nebuchadnezzar for their refusal to worship him and his gods, they proclaimed, “The God we serve is able to deliver us from [the furnace], and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.” Then comes the best part: “But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Dan. 3:17–18).
Presumably, the three Hebrew men were afraid. They were not superheroes in capes. The Scriptures present flesh-and-blood human beings with all their flaws and frailty. While their fear was natural, they kept their fears rightly ordered. Their faith overpowered their fear.
They trusted in the power of God. While they knew God was able to deliver them, actual deliverance was dependent on God’s will. They did not pretend to know the mind of God or precisely what the future would be. This led to their famous words: “But even if he does not” save their bodies, they will remain faithful to him.
The Book of Hebrews speaks similarly about the faith of Abraham. The call to sacrifice Isaac made little sense, as Isaac was key to God’s covenant promise. Abraham did not know what God would do. Would God rescue Isaac before the sacrifice or after? “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead,” the author says, “and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (11:19). Even when he did not understand God’s will, Abraham rested in God’s power and character. Or as Paul says of Abraham in Romans 4:18, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed.” Faith does not obliterate fear but can overcome it, giving hope even in the darkest of circumstances.
That brings us to today. Will the church preserve its integrity and its mission? Will the gospel spread and the kingdom prevail? Will the foundations of our societies founder? Will new technologies save the world or destroy it? Will nations invade nations, asteroids strike the planet, and the climate come unmoored? Will our children endure and flourish, break under the pressures of the modern age, or inherit a world already broken?
The path before us is uncertain. We trust God delivers his people but do not know whether that deliverance will come in this world or the next. We resolve that whatever happens, even if God does not deliver us in this life, we will remain faithful and true to our convictions. Against all hope, in hope we believe. We trust. We endure.
Of course, we know the end of the narrative for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God made himself present in the blazing furnace and delivered them from destruction. Their faithfulness, and God’s deliverance, changed the heart of the king and the story of God’s people in exile.
Christianity Today is more than a magazine. It’s a community of people in exile who are striving to be faithful even in the face of the fiery furnace. May we be the presence of God to one another. May we remind one another how God delivers his people. And may we encourage one another to hold fast. Whatever it costs us, even if God does not spare us hardship, we will remain faithful to Jesus Christ.
As we proceed through our One Kingdom Campaign, we invite you to stand with us. In Babylon long ago, where one may have faltered, three stood together, and a fourth appeared among them who shone “like a son of the gods” (Dan. 3:25). There is power in fellowship. When we gather in his name, our Savior is among us. With him, let’s press on and seek the kingdom together.
This article appeared in print in the May/June issue on p. 4 as “Panic is Profitable.”
Timothy Dalrymple is President and CEO of Christianity Today.
This article appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Christianity Today as "Panic is Profitable ".
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