Pastor Steve's Blog

Daniel 3:1-30 (NLT)
     King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then he sent messages to the princes, prefects, governors, advisers, counselors, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. When all these officials had arrived and were standing before the image King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, a herald shouted out, "People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king's command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."
     So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
     But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "Long live the king! You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the musical instruments. That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They have defied Your Majesty by refusing to serve your gods or to worship the gold statue you have set up."
     Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance. If you bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments, all will be well. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. What god will be able to rescue you from my power then?"
     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, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
     Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully clothed. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in! So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell down into the roaring flames.
     But suddenly, as he was watching, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, "Didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?"
     "Yes," they said, "we did indeed, Your Majesty."
     "Look!" Nebuchadnezzar shouted. "I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire. They aren't even hurt by the flames! And the fourth looks like a divine being!"
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. Then the princes, prefects, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell of smoke!
     Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king's command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be crushed into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!" Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

February, 2008

I believe Christians should be optimistic people. If we have put our trust in Jesus Christ and claim to have faith in Him, shouldn't part of that be a positive, optimistic outlook on life in general? I am not saying that we are to be unrealistic, living in a state of denial when bad things happen to us, but where there is faith, there must be hope, and where there is hope, there must be at least some measure of optimism. If I believe that God is sovereign and all-powerful, and if I believe that He loves me with a perfect, everlasting love, then I must also believe that He is going to orchestrate the events of my life so that they result in my long-term best interests, according to His will. In other words, the God who loves me is going to take care of me and provide for me in the very best way possible.

Have you been there? Have you been in those situations where you want to shake your fists at heaven and scream, "What are You doing?!?!"

I think the three Hebrew boys in Daniel, chapter 3 must have felt like that. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must have wondered what God was up to. Their story actually begins in Daniel, chapter 1, when their homeland was conquered and they were carried away to Babylon. Far from home, their names were changed and they became attendants in King Nebuchadnezzar's court. They tried their best to be true to their faith in God and He did take care of them, but when the king erected a huge idol and ordered everyone in the country to bow and worship it, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused. Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and had the three boys tossed into a furnace that was so hot, the soldiers who did the tossing were killed by the heat. However, Shadrach, Meshach, and Agednego were not harmed and actually walked around in the flames with Jesus, Himself. God saved them, Nebuchadnezzar was amazed and they were placed in even higher stations within the kingdom.

A lot of people are familiar with that story of the fiery furnace and the way God saved those three boys who were faithful to Him.

Here in 2008 we face war, economic uncertainty, political deception, corporate scandal, poverty, AIDS, and a host of other worldwide crisis. While those things certainly effect us, they might not hit us right where we live, but things like: mortgage foreclosures, plant closings, marital conflicts, "check engine" lights, gas prices, and phone calls from school DO, don't they?

Poet, Robert Burns penned the phrase that author, John Steinbech used in his classic novel, OF MICE AND MEN, "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

What do you do when your plans unravel? How do you handle it when your dreams dry up? How are we to respond when our faith is shaken to its core by the events of life?

1. Stay true to your core beliefs.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego got into trouble with Nebuchadnezzar simply because they refused to bow and worship a stupid statue. Really, now what harm would there be in that? All those three boys had to do was bow in front of the statue and go through the motions of worship. What's the big deal? It didn't really mean anything, did it?

No. It didn't mean a thing. Unless, of course you consider that troubling 2nd Commandment. You remember the Commandments, don't you? Most folks know that God issued 10 of them. Number 2 of the 10 says:
   "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in
     heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
     You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord
     your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of
     the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
     but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me
     and keep my commandments."
                                   - Exodus 20:4-6 (NIV)

Ok, NOW we've got a problem. Are the boys going to do what's necessary to save their hides, or are they going to be true to their beliefs?

What are you going to do? When your plans don't work out, or the money is tight, or your kids are driving you nuts, what are you going to do? Are you going to let the disappointment drain your joy? Are you going to let the stress suck the life out of you? Or, are you going to stand firm and be true to what you know is right because God has told you so in His Word?

When we're faced with a crisis, whatever proportion or degree it comes in, our natural, flesh response is toward self-preservation. Don't fall for that one. Be true to your core belief that God loves you and knows what He is doing.

2. Have more FAITH than FEAR.
It has been said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." With all due respect to President Roosevelt, what in the world does that mean?! Life is uncertain and messy and unpredictable. The only folks who are not afraid of some parts of life are fools! We're all afraid of lots of things, and not all of our fear is without cause. Once all the bravado is packed away and stop trying to act like John Wayne, or Rambo, we have to admit that there are parts of life that are downright scary.

Most of our fear is based on that which we cannot know. To put it simply, we're not God. We don't know the future. We can't even see past the present moment, much less know how a potential crisis is going to play out. That's where the fear comes in.

When faced with a crisis, or a plan that goes sideways, we can only respond in one of three ways. We can respond by choosing not to respond and simply denying the situation altogether -- "I reject your reality and substitute one of my own!" That is FOOLISHNESS and none of us wants to be a fool. Second, we can respond in panic, letting the crisis overwhelm us, or the broken plan discourage us. That is FEAR and is not compatible with walking in Christ. Third, we can respond by trusting God in spite of our fear. That is FAITH and is really the most logical and realistic response.
Responding in FAITH is not the absence of fear, but the overcoming of it in Christ. There can be no courage, unless there is already some fear; and there can be no faith unless there is some uncertainty.
Responding in FAITH is Biblical. Time and time again, Jesus encouraged NOT to be afraid. Will you trust Him to the point where your fear becomes small compared to your faith?
Responding in FAITH is the best testimony we can give for Christ. Heroes are not heroes because they had no fear. They are heroes because they responded heroically in spite of their fear. Have courage! Put your trust in Christ and respond to that situation you're facing right now as a spiritual hero.

3. Trust God ...NO MATTER WHAT.
I think the very best part of Daniel, Chapter 3 is the answer Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego gave King Nebuchadnezzar when he told them they were headed for the furnace:

        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, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods
        or worship the gold statue you have set up."
                                                                                 - Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT)

Those of us who have been around for a few years know that life does not always work out to our satisfaction. Things don't always go the way we want them to. I have no doubt, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did NOT want to go into the furnace. I suspect they were afraid. I kind of think their knees were knocking and their voices were shaking when they gave this answer to the king. They did NOT know that God was going to save them -- they knew He could, but they didn't know if He would. In spite of that, they trusted God's love and will. They laid everything on the line.

We all want to believe we have that kind of faith, don't we? We want to believe that we'll be heroes when the crisis looms.

I understand how stressful it is when a crisis breaks. I know how devastating it can be when a plan falls through. I know the fear that comes in uncertainty and the frustration that results with things not going our way. Jesus does, too. He experienced the stress, and the disappointment, and the betrayal, and the frustration that you and I feel. That's why He knows He is asking for a great deal when He says simply, "Trust in ME." He knows He is asking a great deal and He asks anyway, because He knows what He offers in return.

Where's your furnace today? What's got you stressed, or bummed-out, or teetering on the edge of bitterness? Whatever it is, TRUST HIM. He knows what He's doing, even when we can't see it. And He WILL take care of you in the very best way possible.