Daniel 3:16-18
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 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.
18 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.
These three Hebrew captives found themselves in what would seem to be an impossible situation. They were in a foreign land, captives of a foreign dictator who demanded that they violate what they had been taught from a child. They were commanded to worship something other than their God. The pressure upon them would have been immense but they did not see the dilemma in this scenario that most would see. They could not see an option or an alternative. There was no doubt what their answer should be. They said, “we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Their devotion to God was so deep and precious to them that even the suggestion of worshiping something else was not a temptation, even though to refuse could bring certain death. This was a courage of conviction that was unshakable. They could have recanted and walked away but that would be more of a death to them than death itself. This is the kind of devotion that God deserves. He has made his blessings available to us through his marvelous grace and our only hope for eternity is found in him. We owe him everything. These three young men understood that truth.
We now live in a time that making a stand for Jesus Christ is ridiculed and mocked as a lower class lifestyle of the ignorant. There are those that claim that our evolved world has advanced beyond such archaic beliefs but don’t let them fool you. The only right choice is still following the Lord. Everything else is a life of destruction. Everything else is a life of eternal separation. Don’t be careful to answer where you will stand. Stand with the Lord. You’ll be glad you did.
In Christ's Service,
Bro. Adrian Moore
2 Cor. 4:5
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