“Could my faith stand the test of martyrdom?” We wonder. We may sing confidently in comfortable pews, “And take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife…” Would the words of the famous Lutheran hymn flow from our mouths so bravely if we were facing a firing squad for our beliefs?

Daniel’s three friends experienced such a test. The king of Babylon had ordered all to bow before the huge statue he had erected. But Daniel’s three friends refused. They desired to remain faithful to the God whom they knew was the only true God—the One who alone had the power to save.

So firmly did the three trust God to work things out for them that, even if it was God’s will to have them meet their earthly end in the flames,they would not budge an inch to the heathen king’s decree. They said, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us...But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17, 18). As you know, God spared them by sending His angel.

Trials or tests plague Christians today also. Pastors in our India mission can tell many stories of persecution as Christians meet for worship. A Belarusian man whom I instructed recently at our sister church’s seminary in Ukraine spoke about government pressure against efforts to form a confessional Lutheran church in his homeland. The trials are not all on a fiery-furnace level. But even ordinary and not-so-ordinary sicknesses and hardship can pose challenges to faith in the providential promises of our God. We may be tempted to ask: “Does God really love me? Does He really care? Am I certain that it will all work out for good?”

Whatever God sends in our direction, there is a window of escape. It is a window through which Christians—and only Christians—can see clearly the bigger picture of life. In time of trial, God will “provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (I Corinthians 10:13). God also promises: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). God’s holy Word is our escape. It sets our sights on the eternal comfort we possess through Jesus Christ. Jesus does not punish us as our sins deserve. He has forgiven us. By faith in His cross we have a better home. That house of heaven is in the window. May God keep us peering at it, even as we trust Him to bring us through many trials in this present life.