Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
And so we come to the last of the Major Prophets in our little skim through. Daniel is an...interesting...book. Half of it is wild supernatural narrative, the other half is mind-boggling prophecy. But what stood out to me today was the unshakeable faith of three young men who refused to compromise their faith.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzer, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into this blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand. 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 3:16-18
This is the mindset of believers who are under abusive regimes around the world, who continue to practice their faith and worship God despite unspeakable consequences. A new story was in my inbox just this week about a secret church meeting in a closed country. They were betrayed, and government agents stormed the meeting, arrested all the people and executed them, then took their families, who didn't even know that their relatives were believers, and threw them into prison work camps. Because following Jesus is perceived as a great threat to the state.
How many of us in the free west have such unshakeable faith to believe that God is well able to deliver...but even if he doesn't...refuse to compromise with an unbelieving society?
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