Today I decided to share another post from the past. This one, I wrote four years ago today, on January 11, 2013.
When you’re going through valleys and ditches, facing humongous mountains, or find yourself on the edge of a cliff–it’s sometimes helpful to look back on a time when you were facing something of similar intensity, or worse.
What were you going through? How did you face those issues? What was your prayer to God? What was the end result? Did you succeed, fail, or find yourself in time out?
Today, let’s read and then recite a scripture, prayer, and reflection that I shared four years ago. You may be going through a rough time right now, or you just made it through a storm—how much faith do you have in God?
Natasha’s Daily Scripture, Prayer, and Reflection for 1.11.13
There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men have ignored you, the king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Then in a furious rage Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?
Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire — and who is the god who can rescue you from my power? ”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king.
But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
Daniel 3:12-18 HCSB
Pray
Father I pray for the faith, strength, courage and conviction to never back down from serving and worshipping only You. I pray that even if faced with death or torture that I would never turn my back on You. Father even if tempted by the riches of the world, I pray for the fullness within to resist. I know that You are always with me and that even if I don’t see immediate, or any, action from You, there is a reason that I’m not to question. I want to not question You, only trust You. In Jesus’ name I pray for more strength and courage to be a better soldier in Your army. Amen.
Reflection
How many of you would stand tall in your convictions like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? How many of you would have the courage to look directly in the eyes of a person who could take your human life, and tell them what Nebuchadnezzar heard that day? How many of you stand bold as a soldier for Christ?
If a gun was pointed at your head and you were told that you either worshipped another god or be killed, what would you do? What would you do if your choices were to serve another human as you would serve God, or be tortured or killed?
Honestly, what would you say and do?
If someone placed a pile of money, gold, and diamonds stacked high on a huge conference table and gave you the option of taking it all and turning your back on God, or walking away and watching them wipe out your bank accounts and other assets leaving you penniless, what would be your decision?
Honestly, how many of you contemplated even for a few minutes or seconds?
How many of you considered pretending to be a loyal worshipper of another god (to spare your life and limbs) but still secretly worship God? What about serving a human master instead of God? Could you justify it to spare your life? Could you convince yourself that you are only pretending to rebuke God? What about when it came to the money? Did you ever at any point say to yourself, “I could first pray to God, let Him know my plan, and ask for forgiveness. Then I would take that money, gold, and diamonds off the table to take care of my family for generations to come, and just pretend to rebuke God”?
It’s been done many times over thousands of years. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. I’m just reflecting and posing questions for all of us to consider. What is our breaking point? Negotiation point? Fake it point? Can we publicly denounce Him then risk privately worshipping Him? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t even consider faking it for the king and others, they just basically said “No. Do what you’re going to do, but we’re staying true to our God!” That’s deep.
Share your thoughts. I look forward to some healthy dialogue and reading your reflections and comments on today’s message. Happy Friday family! Have an amazing weekend, stay safe and prayed up!
Love always,
Natasha
Copyright 2013. Natasha L. Foreman. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha L. Foreman. breakingbreadwithnatasha.blogspot.com
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Copyright 2013-2017. Natasha Foreman Bryant. Some Rights Reserved. All Prayers and Reflections are Copyright Protected by Natasha Foreman Bryant, unless otherwise noted.
Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
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