FAILED FIRE
Daniel 3

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) To love God is to trust in God. To trust in God is to worship God. To worship God is to serve God. Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego loved the Lord God with all their hearts, with all their souls, and with all their strength. The three Daniel’s friends were willing to die for the Lord God’s name when they bluntly refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image. When they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image, they were questioned about their God. In addition to the questioning, they were also threatened, with death, by a burning fiery furnace. In response to the threat, “…Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 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.””(Daniel 3:16-18) Loving, serving, or worshiping God goes way beyond Sunday gatherings, memorization of Bible verses, titles, and being active in the church. Worshiping God can sometimes be provocative. Worshiping God could be taking a very unpopular stand in any area of life. With the three friends of Daniel, it was provocation to the highest authority. “…Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.” (Daniel 3:19) In your walk with the Lord, can you determine if you have stepped on the enemy’s toe? In the name of the Lord God, have you crossed a line that could generate a burning furnace for your destruction? Daniel’s three friends provocation called for a fiery furnace, “Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.” (Daniel 3:22) Whatever is set against us to offset God’s plan in our life, God in His goodness, and mercy, will turn it against the set-up agent. God is true to His word of deliverance and preservation; He will never leave His own, nor forsake His own. God did not leave Daniel’s three friends alone in the furnace of fire. He was with them watching, and protecting them, because they took a stand for His name. God delivered them and protected them for a better, and greater position.

Prayer for today: Father I ask for the boldness, and the character, that will enable me to always take a stand for Your holy name, all the days of my life.