Yesterday at MCC we continued our summer series, “Bible Stories for Grown-ups” by talking about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three young Jewish boys had been taken from their homes, families and culture, and sent to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar to be taught and trained in the customs of Babylon.
Daniel chapter 3 tells their story. You can read it here.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to compromise their faith in God even in the face of king Nebuchadnezzar’s threats toward them. They did not bow to the golden statue, because they had already bowed to God.
Here are a few take a way’s from the teaching yesterday:
It’s easy to have faith when nothing is on the line. True faith is how you and I respond when all the chips are down.
“There is never a reason to violate the principles of God in order to maintain the blessings of God” [Andy Stanley]
There is always more on the line than we could possibly imagine. People are watching our response to difficult situations. A spouse, a child, a co-worker, a neighbor, someone is watching to see if there is anything to this “God-thing,” if it has any impact on our lives.
Our decisions in moments like these are not made in the moment, they are made ahead of time. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made their decision to be faithful to their God way before Nebuchadnezzar and the golden statue came into the picture.
We are all going to face moments like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced. The question is how will we prepare ourselves now? What decisions are we making now so we are ready for the difficult moments ahead?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
josh
Josh Scott 