Verse of the
day: Daniel 3:17-18 “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if
not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will
we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Is our love for,
and faith in, God, conditional? Do we love and trust God only when He does
something good for us, or only when He does not allow bad things to happen in
our lives? Would we stand firm on our faith even if God chose to allow us, or a
loved one, to go through a situation that could potentially cost us, or them,
our/their lives? If so, would we be willing to announce it before knowing what
the outcome of our situation would be? The truth of the matter is that no matter
how dedicated we are to the Lord and living the Christians life, none of us are
guaranteed that we will be alive tomorrow, or that we would even make it
through today. There have been many dedicated servants of God that have been
martyred for the sake of the Gospel. Yet, so often, we, as Christians, get
upset with God when He allows us, or someone dear to us, to suffer in this
world. Sadly, we are too quick to point out to God that we are trying to do all
that we can to serve Him and share Christ with others. We pull out our laundry
list of things we do for God as if God owes us something for our dedication and
service to Him. These three young men refused to bow their knee to the idol set
up by Nebuchadnezzar, of himself, and stood their ground in respect to whether
or not God would rescue them from their ordeal. Note what they said, “our God
whom we serve is able to deliver us…” They had no doubt in their minds that God
was mighty enough to deliver them, even from the fiery furnace they were about
to be thrown into. Can I stop right here and remind us that this is still the
same God we serve today? When the angel announced Jesus’ conception and birth
in Luke 1, in verse 37 he said, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Even
though they did not know the outcome of their situation, they were confident
that God could deliver them. However, if it was God’s will, and plan, for them
to be martyred at this time, they were not going to waver in their faith, in
the midst of this trial. They did not allow what their circumstances looked
like at that moment to determine what their faith in God would be, or what God’s
faithfulness to them was. Psalm 119:90 tells us that God’s faithfulness endures
for all generations. 1 Corinthians 1:9 tells us that God is faithful. The bottom
line is that there will certainly be times when we are called to suffer for the
sake of our faith. Jesus told us very clearly that if the world persecuted Him,
it will persecute us (John 15:18-21). We must determine to follow Jesus, and
stand strong in our faith, even if our circumstances and trials put us in a
position to suffer greatly, or give our life, for the sake of the Gospel. Our
God is always good. He is even better to us than we deserve. He has the power
to deliver us from anything He allows into our lives, but there may be times
when He allows our faith to be tested by bringing us to the brink of life and
death. Will our testimony be like that of these three young men? “But if not,
let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we
worship the gold image you have set up.” May God be glorified in our lives when
our faith is tested, and the world is watching, and waiting, to see how genuine,
and unconditional, our love for, and faith in, Christ, really is.
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