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Daniel 3:25-27
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
New International Version (NIV)
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As my brothers and I grew up, when the Air Force told our family to move, we moved. On October 12, 1969, we boarded a plane and arrived the next day in Germany. Our apartment on the third floor of a house in Schrollbach became our new home. From baseball crazy St. Louis we moved to a place where everyone played soccer. I was fascinated with the new language, the new sights and sounds of Germany. My life is deeply enriched by that educational experience.
Imagine being pulled out of your homeland and sent to a foreign country to assimilate into the culture. Daniel and his three friends were part of the exile from Jerusalem in Babylon. Once they arrived in a new world, they were expected to accommodate the customs of the new place. From the start they decided not to eat the food of Babylon. God protected them and gifted them. Then three of them were commanded to worship a statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. Their words are powerful, “The God we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace . . . but if not, we will not serve the gods of this land.” When they refused they were thrown into a furnace.
Often times the easiest way to get along is to go along. Daniel and his friends, however, dared to be different. When all hope seemed to be lost, God showed up. As the King looked into the furnace he saw not three men but four and one looked like a Son of God. They emerged unsinged, living testaments to God’s protection of his own.
God will not forsake his people. Christians who are being persecuted around the world tell of God’s protection and provision. Even if God does not deliver them here, they trust that he will take care of them for eternity. Of course, he will!
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Pray with me:
Father, we thank you for the promise and provision of your presence. Help us never to compromise our convictions about Christ. Make us missionaries wherever we go today, representing the presence of Christ in each place we enter. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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| This year we focus our Every Day with Jesus readings on Jesus’ story. With references to Tallowood's Read Through the Bible in 2018 daily reading plan, let's focus our undivided attention on Jesus and follow where he lead. He will not fail. Neither will we!
Joyfully,
Duane
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