"We Can't Witness If We're Dead!"

Suggested Reading: Daniel 3:1-30

One of my favorite stories from scripture is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were three Hebrew young men who had been kidnapped from their home in Judah and forced into the service of the Babylonian king. As they figured out how to live in the Babylonian court, they did their best to be faithful to God, despite the constant pressure to compromise the commands of God to succeed and fit into the surrounding culture. Along with Daniel, they repeatedly held their ground and became a witness to King Nebuchadnezzar because of it. He even announced, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings" (Dan 2:47, ESV). 

But not long after that, Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and commanded everyone in the kingdom to worship it, threatening them with a fiery death in a furnace if they refused. Despite the penalty of death hanging over their heads, these young men never even considered compromising and worshipping Nebuchadnezzar's idol. They didn't decide to worship the idol "just this once" because they couldn't keep telling people about God if they were dead. They didn't rationalize giving this prideful, sinful king what he wanted because he provided the money and resources that they lived on. They knew what God had called them to, and they took their stand, saying, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up" (Dan 3:17-18, ESV). Notice the last part of their statement to the king. They trusted that God would deliver them, "but if not" they would still remain faithful to the commands of God. 

Sometimes, we are tempted to compromise just so that we can survive. We are tempted to adjust what we are doing so that the sinful, prideful king won't destroy us. After all, how can we tell people about God if we are dead? How can we share the Gospel if we are killed for our faith? How will we keep the church doors open if standing on the truth of scripture drives people away and we can't pay the bills? Can't we compromise just a little so that we can live to fight the good fight another day?

But God does not call us to survive. God calls us to be faithful. We say that God is able to save us. We say that God is faithful. But when the moment of decision comes, do we trust God to see us through or are we tempted to compromise to survive? Are we willing to do things we know we shouldn't do because faithfulness would hurt us? Are we tempted to give in to sinful, prideful people to avoid complications we aren't sure how to deal with? Or do we trust God enough to obey him regardless of how tough things might get? 

God doesn't call us to survive. Survival is nothing without faithful obedience. We must be willing to do what is right regardless of the consequences, trusting that God will see us through.

The Deafening Roar of Minor Miracles

Suggested Reading: Daniel 3:8-27 (or read the whole story: Daniel 3)

The story goes of a man who was a known smuggler who crossed the border every day. Every day a border agent would stop him with his wheelbarrow and sift through all of the dirt inside the wheelbarrow, but he could never catch the man or figure out what was being snuck across the border. Every night, the man would walk back across the border empty-handed and come back the next morning with a wheelbarrow full of dirt. Eventually, the border agent gave up, never realizing the very thing being smuggled across the border was a bunch of wheelbarrows. Sometimes we miss the most obvious things because we are focused on the dirt.

In Daniel chapter 3, I recently noticed a miracle that I don't believe I've ever seen anyone call attention to. Daniel 3 is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who are thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the king's idol. Now, miraculously, they survive the furnace which is so hot that the guards who toss them in are killed while walking around with one who looks like a son of the gods. There are two miracles right there but the miracle I noticed was a different one.

We used to live in an area where we had to burn our own trash. One of the things I have learned is that fires can be loud. And the bigger the fire, the louder they get. But King Nebuchadnezzar had ordered a furnace, which was already a massive fire, heated seven times hotter than normal because he was so angry, so the roar of this fire was deafening. Then, when he realized the three men had been saved by their God, we read this: Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. (Daniel 3:26, NLT) How in the world did Nebuchadnezzar make himself heard over the roar of that massive fire, especially when those three men were in the very heart of the flames?

Granted, compared to being saved from the fire itself, the fact that Nebuchadnezzar was somehow heard isn't all that impressive, but it should have been no less impossible. Yet, of the dozens and dozens of times I have read that story or heard it taught or preached, I've never heard anyone ever mention that. It was a minor miracle that is easily overshadowed by the other events of the chapter. But it was still a miracle.

How many minor miracles occur in our lives that we never notice because they are overshadowed by more prominent events? How is it that a stop light can change the entire course of your day, starting off a chain of events that can last for years to come? Or think about that check that God laid on someone's heart to write two weeks before the need was even realized? What about that morning your alarm clock didn't go off because God knew you were going to need the extra sleep that day? Or when you make a choice to follow the Spirit's lead and the things you sacrificed to obey God end up working out anyway?

We continually experience "minor" miracles that are overshadowed by the larger events of the day. Thank God for those miracles, and try to keep your eyes open for God's "minor" movements in the future. Most of the time, we have more to thank God for than we realize.

Being Roasted Alive For Risking Romance

Suggested Reading: Daniel 3:1-18 (or read the whole story here)

In the 90's television series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a driving force for the show was the question of when Lois and Clark would finally get together. As the moment approached and Lois and Clark began emerging as a couple, Lois got very scared and considered pulling out because she didn't want to risk losing Clark as her best friend if their relationship didn't work out. As they talked, Clark admitted that he was also scared, but the possibility of what they could be together motivated him to move forward. Eventually Lois agreed and they continued with their romantic relationship.

But the idea of deciding between the possibility of pain or the potential of adventure and its rewards is not a new one. In the book of Daniel three young men faced that choice themselves when Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to bow down and worship the idol he had set up or be tossed into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had to choose between being guided by the possibility of pain and death if they obeyed God's law or the potential adventure and rewards if they were faithful and God chose to rescue them. When given one final chance to choose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up" (Daniel 3:16-18, NLT).

In very clear terms, these men stated the choice between the "certainty" of death and the possibility of rescue. Knowing God could deliver them was enough to motivate them, but they acknowledged the real possibility that God might not choose to do so. For these three men, fear of pain and death could not keep them from obeying God's commands because the potential to see God rescue them was worth any risk.

What about you? When facing a decision, especially when obeying God might cost you, are you motivated by potential or held back by fear? Is knowing that God can do the miraculous good enough for you or does the possibility that God might not hold you back? God is able to deliver. Will you give God the chance or will you miss out because of fear?

Iocaine Powder and a Diet of Vegetables

Suggested Reading: Daniel 1:1-15

The Princess Bride was one of my favorite movies growing up. In fact, I tried to novelize the movie and was a couple chapters into writing it out when I realized the movie really did come from a book. One of the most memorable scenes from that movie is the battle of wits between Vinzini and the Man in Black, two men battling to the death, using only their intellects. Vinzini was supposed to guess which of the two wine goblets the Man in Black had poisoned with iocaine powder. The winner would get to keep the kidnapped princess while the loser died of poisoning. Rather than simply talking about who was smartest, they decided to put it to the test. Unfortunately, the idea of poisoning both drinks with a poison to which the Man in Black was immune never occurred to Vinzini.

In the book of Daniel, four young men also found themselves in a position where their beliefs were pitted against another's. Having been captured and re-educated by king Nebuchadnezzar after the conquest of Jerusalem, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were being told they needed to eat the king's meat which had probably been involved with sacrifices to idols. When Daniel requested a different diet, their caretaker warned them that he would lose his job if they showed up looking less healthy and robust than the other captives. Rather than accepting the argument that the king's meat would bring better health than the vegetables they had requested, Daniel responded, “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water. At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” (Daniel 1:12-13, NLT) Daniel didn't accept the caretaker's rational but asked for a chance to prove his own, to put it to the test.

Like Daniel, we live in a world which believes very differently than our own faith has taught us to believe. We live in a world where we are told that abstaining from sex before marriage is unhealthy, where disciplining your child is considered archaic, and where getting ahead is the highest virtue. These things and many more are often in direct conflict with our faith, but we often forfeit the argument when that conflict occurs. Instead of wimping out, let's take the attitude Daniel had and challenge the accepted norms. Let us say, "Test me! Let me try it my way while you try it yours and let's see what happens." Allow those tests not only to serve as confirmation for you but as a witness to a world that desperately needs a light to shine in the darkness.

When conflict arises between the tenets of your faith and the world's belief system, don't just accept their arguments about what is best. Put them to the test and give God a chance to prove his word.