Thursday
So what do you do when you want to follow God, but you are in a place that prevents you from following your heart?
Daniel is a young man from Judah during the exile who is faced with the pressures of a new culture that wants him to conform to their way of life, their religion. Daniel and his three friends (we’ll talk about them a little later) are told to eat foods that were forbidden (by Law) for them to eat, and having found a fair official, he convinces him to let them eat only vegetables. They turn out to be stronger and more fit with their diet and so they are able to stay true to God and be a witnesses to the greatness of God. Daniel and his friends are given great wisdom and understanding, and Daniel is able to interpret the king’s dream. This places Daniel in great favor with the king, but not everyone is enamored with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
What comes next is the very family story of the fiery furnace and Shadrach Meshach and Abednego’s defiance of a law that would cause them to bow down to someone other than the Lord God. As the story goes they are thrown in and a fourth person joins them “one like the son of man”. Hmmm I wander who that was?
Well, they survive and those who had to throw them into the fire were consumed and the king and many people are very impressed. What a great example these three young men were to their fellow Israelites. Think about how this stance would encourage others when they might be afraid to stand up for the Lord.
One other thing that has always impressed me about these young men, is when they say, “even if God doesn’t rescue us, we will still worship only Him and no other (3:18).” I have to ask myself would I be able to stand with them? Would you?
It is important for us to remember that God doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we want him too, but He will always do what is right for us. The important thing is not what happens to our bodies, but what happens to our soul, not what happen in this temporary place, but what happens in eternity.
Relying on the Lord
Pastor Kathy