August 24, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Extraordinary God with Extraordinary Power in Extraordinary Ways…"
Daniel 3:17-18
New International Version
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[a] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
What young children most remember about the bedtime Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is that they were miraculously saved from the fiery furnace. And that exciting story is well worth remembering, even for us. A stop-action, slow-motion look at the biblical account reveals an extraordinary God with extraordinary power working in extraordinary ways. If God could save three men under these dramatic circumstances, then there is absolutely nothing God cannot do in my life or yours! Yet Perhaps the more thrilling story is what leads up to the fiery furnace. When King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw these three Hebrews into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to his golden idol, they gave the determined reply highlighted in today's passage. That too is worth a second look. If there was anything that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were sure of, it was that God not only had the power to rescue them, but would rescue them! Though most would agree that God has that same power to rescue use even today, few of us indeed would confidently expect God to actually invoke that power in a similar life-and-death circumstance. Yet their remarkable confidence in God's saving power is not even the real story here. Rather, it is their determination to remain faithful to God whether or not he rescued them. Have we become jaded, knowing the happy ending? Countless martyrs have died without rescue! As might we some day-even if the only thing at stake for us is our job, our families, or our virtue.
The provocative question is: What would I be willing to give up for the Lord, even if there was no hope of rescue?
