Written ~ 07-21-2023
Daniel 3:16-18, 24-27
Verses 16-18: “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up….” Verses 24-27: “…. But Suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisors, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stepped out of the fire.”
Oh, my goodness!! Do you see how awesome this passage is!!! (Reading the entire Chapter 3 will give better context)
Here we have 3 young men who are unwilling to bow down and serve the idols and gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Because of their refusal to serve anything other than the LORD their God… it caused them to be thrown in the fire.
Living our lives purely for the LORD God Almighty may cause some heat between you and the non-believer. When the world throws everything it can to distract us and try to get us to turn our heads and relent to the pressures of worldly thoughts and views, that’s when we need to stand firm on the word of God. The heat may become unbearable. Stand firm.
In our passage today it was because of an overbearing, overconfident King who was determined to have everyone bow down and worship a statue of himself that brought us to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the fire.
You may be thinking, “I would never bow down to an idol.” But from time to time, we all do. Anything, anybody, or any other world view that becomes more important to us than the LORD Jesus Christ can definitely become an idol in our hearts.
So, there can be two different ways to have the “fire” affect us. When we come up against a non-believer who doesn’t want to believe in the LORD and we stand up for our beliefs no matter what, the “fire”, the anger, the distraction that can be thrown our way, can get quite intense. A non-believer, depending on the relationship you have with that person, can try to draw you away from the LORD – if they are relentless or you grow tired of the contention between the two of you, it could be that they turn your eyes off the LORD just enough to start you on a path of disobedience to the LORD. Then the second way fire can affect us is the fire of a jealous God being placed on our hearts.
So… if we are placed in the fire because of our complete devotion and unwavering faith and trust in the LORD – HE WILL BE IN THE FIRE WITH US! Protecting us, walking through the fire with us. This fire may be quite difficult, hard to bear, But God is with us! He will rescue us. Obedience to Him, loving Him, honoring Him, praising Him is all He wants from us! We cannot bow down to anything other than the Almighty God.
Now, if we choose to veer off course and take our eyes off the LORD – the fire is going to be different. The fire of disobedience is going to be the discipline of the LORD. Where there is disobedience – a complete disregard of what God would want us to do – you will have to expect His discipline to follow.
What are those idols in your life?
What are you choosing ahead of God?
Are you standing firm in your Biblical views and walk with the LORD?
Are you looking for anything else to satisfy your need for love, your need for acceptance?
Do you want to stand out like the 3 young men in our passage for today?
Or do you want to be like the crowd who does what the king demands and bows down?
None of us want to walk through fire. But I would much rather walk through fire with the LORD God walking by my side!
Thank You Father for being with me no matter what I walk through.
I pray I will not be tempted to put an idol in front of you. Point out to me those things that stand in the way of my heart being completely devoted to you.
I love you LORD- help me to have the type of faith that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had when they were thrown into the fire. Thank You Father for your presence in my life!
~AMEN~