You may recall that it tells the
story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego and how they surrendered their lives
to be burned rather than bow down before a false god. Wow! What a powerful call
in the life of the believer for surrender!
Determining where the line between
worldliness and godliness lay can be one of the single most difficult tasks of
the Christian today. So much gray has been painted into the portrait of our
walk as a believer. I want you to know spiritual maturity removes the gray
areas and leaves crisp, clear lines for the follower of Christ.
In this biblical account, we can
see that going the way of the world is always the path of least resistance, but
in the long run, it is never the path which brings God the greatest glory.
We also see that just when we
have made up our mind to do the right thing, to stand by the Word of God and
stand by our convictions, there will always be someone there to point out how
different we are, always someone there to bring charge, or to bring accusation
against the child of God. Why do we feel as though we owe this world an
explanation? “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not
need to give you an answer concerning this matter” (3:16).
These men were making a powerful
statement of faith! Believers today are so afraid they’re going to be asked to
share the Gospel with a stranger or knock on a door; however, more times than
not, you are making a statement with your life without speaking a word! What is
the life you live saying about the God or gods you serve?
It is extremely important to see
that these men recognized that their fate was not in the hands of an earthly
king, Nebuchadnezzar; rather their fate rested in the
hands of the King of Kings! I am reminded of the passage of scripture found in
Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who
kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able
to kill both soul and body in hell.”
The enemy will always respond to righteousness with envy, with malice, and anger! Remember “…He that departs from evil makes himself a prey” (Isaiah 59:15).
The biblical account of Meshach,
Shadrach, and Abednego is an awesome display of God’s righteousness at work
both in the life of the faithful as well as in the life of the enemy. While
God’s righteousness was being displayed in Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, it
was also being displayed in those men dead on the ramp of the furnace, and it
was also being displayed in the heart and eyes of King Nebuchadnezzar!
These men were bound up and cast into the fire all for doing what is right in the eyes of God. Remember these men the next time you face hardship, trial. The next time you’re facing the fire of tribulation, ask yourself the following questions: Are others seeing Christ through my tribulation? Is my attitude, my conduct, my behavior, my talk, my actions, my convictions displaying true faith and trust in God?
For Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego,
they had but one message… “Burn us up! Burn us up, King Nebuchadnezzar, but we
will never worship a false god!”
