Today’s Devotional: Consequences and Deliverance for Faithfulness

Nebuchadnezzar, king and ruler of Babylon, had just erected a golden image and commanded everyone, including his leaders, to bow down and worship it. If they refused, they faced serious consequences—the fiery furnace.

The ruler of this world, Satan, has done much the same. He has set up his own golden idols of money, power, prestige, and possession. If we want to participate in what they offer, we must bow down—that is, set aside our standards, ethics, morals, and beliefs to worship the idols.

If not, then there will be consequences. If we refuse to bow before the golden images of this world, we can expect persecution and suffering.

But three faithful young Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, saying, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18)

These three relied on God and His word. They believed that God would rescue them from the fire. But even if they were burned up, they knew they would also be saved through death into eternal life.

Only through obedience to God and His word, along with unwavering faith in God, can deliverance from the fiery furnaces of trials, temptations, sufferings, and persecution be achieved.

It’s when we refuse to bow down to the golden images of this world, because of our faith in God, that Christ will come into the midst of our crisis and deliver us through whatever trials we may face, whether in this life or the next.