We Can Stand in The Day of Trouble

Published by Sister Deborah Negron- Child of God

11/26/21

So these men said, “We won’t find any fault in Daniel, unless we can find something to use against him from his religious practice.” So these officers and chief administrators ganged together and went to the king. They said to him, “Long live King Darius! All the officers of the kingdom, the ministers, the chief administrators, the royal associates, and the governors advise the king to issue an edict and enforce a law, that for thirty days anyone who says prayers to any god or human being except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a pit of lions. Now, Your Majesty, issue the law and sign the document so that it cannot be changed, as per the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled.” Because of this, King Darius signed the document containing the law. When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. Now his upper room had open windows that faced Jerusalem. Daniel knelt down, prayed, and praised his God three times that day, just like he always did.
Daniel 6:5‭-‬10

Will we stand in the day of trouble? Will we succumb to pressure and give in?

Will we refrain from worshiping our God and Saviour or allow the governments of this world dictate how we engage in prayer?

Daniel did not give in. He did not crack under the pressure. He kept on being the same. He continued following the statutes of the Lord regardless of what the laws of man dictated.

This caused him to be thrown in to the lion’s den.

We live in a godless society. A society that calls what is evil good. They call what is good evil. Yes, everything is backwards.
You cannot kill a baby eagle without a fine but you can go and abort pregnancy at will.

You cannot protest peacefully and speak out on what is wrong without someone saying an illegal riot was your fault.
Violence seems to be on the rise and men’s hearts and mind’s are filled with fear and hate.

Those who believe in Jesus are mocked and called close minded and old fashioned. They say we have created an idea of a God since other generations and peoples have done the same.

They have never experienced the grace of God, the mercy of God. The love that has reached us.

Jesus said,
“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:38‭-‬45

The world cannot comprehend why we worship. It is unreasonable and foolish to those have not had an encounter with the true and only God of heaven.

Throughout generations and different cultures mankind has been searching for something to believe in.
They create for themselves idols and worship things they have made themselves or have received from other human being who have made them with their own hands.

Their idols are just silver and gold— things made by human hands. They have mouths, but they can’t speak. They have eyes, but they can’t see. They have ears, but they can’t hear. They have noses, but they can’t smell. They have hands, but they can’t feel. They have feet, but they can’t walk. They can’t even make a noise in their throats!
Psalms 115:4‭-‬7

Though this has been their experience it has not been ours.
We have experienced, partaken and encountered the True and Livng Eternal God.

Daniel knew this One True God. He did not fearsome human edict. He did not fall under pressure and Gove in to the left. He did not lose heart because of the fact they had threatened his life. He continued to pray. His worship was not hindered by external pressures for he had an internal, intimate relationship with the Almighty.
Calamity did come. He was thrown in to that den of lions. But God, his God, Yahweh was able to shut the mouths of the lions.

The boys in Babylon had been taken, kidnapped from their homes and forced into service for a foreign kigdom.
The rulers of that land even attempted to change their names, Hananiah, which means “Yah is gracious”; Mishael, which means “who is what God is”; and Azariah, which means “Yah has helped.”
This was done to change their very identity. They were given Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. As if this would cause them to forget. They were stripped of who they were. They were dressed like pagans.

Yet, these young men knew their God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They know whom they had believed in. They understood they were those belonging to the Most High. They did not cave in under pressure.

King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue. It was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He set it up in the Dura Valley in the province of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar then ordered the chief administrators, ministers, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to assemble and come for the dedication of the statue that he had set up. So the chief administrators, ministers, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of the statue the king had set up. The herald proclaimed loudly: “Peoples, nations, and languages! This is what you must do: When you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, flute, and every kind of instrument, you must bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Anyone who will not bow down and worship will be immediately thrown into a furnace of flaming fire.”
Daniel 3:1‭-‬6

It was clear. You don’t bow, you burn. No, way out. Right?
What seems impossible with man is possible with God.

“Now hear king, there are some jews….
There are some foreigners…
There are some strange folk. There are some close minded ones who refuse to give in to the law of the land. They refuse to bend to the gods we worship.”

At that moment some Chaldeans came forward, seizing a chance to attack the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar: “Long live the king! Your Majesty, you gave a command that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, harp, flute, and every kind of instrument should bow down and worship the gold statue. Anyone who wouldn’t bow and worship would be thrown into a furnace of flaming fire. Now there are some Jews, ones you appointed to administer the province of Babylon—specifically, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored your command. They don’t serve your gods, and they don’t worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”
Daniel 3:8‭-‬12

The king became very angry. He was infuriated. He called fr the fiery furnace to be heard 7 times more than before. His intention, to make an example for anyone who thought they would not obey the king.

But God!!! But God!!! The one True Maker of Heaven and Earth was present in the fiery furnace. He never abandoned his children. He knew their true identity. Regardless of the way they had been indoctrinated and dressed and their names changed.
They had a relationship and knew their God. We too can be pushed and influenced towards the norms of this world but when we know whom we belong to; when we know and have a personal relationship with the True God, we can stand. We can give clear response.

Their response the the mandate was clear.

Nebuchadnezzar said to them: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I’ve set up? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar: “We don’t need to answer your question. If our God—the one we serve—is able to rescue us from the furnace of flaming fire and from your power, Your Majesty, then let him rescue us. But if he doesn’t, know this for certain, Your Majesty: we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you’ve set up.”
Daniel 3:14‭, ‬16‭-‬18

Jesus said, that in this world we would have tribulations.
Yet, in the book of James, scripture tells us,
You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. Or do you suppose that scripture is meaningless? Doesn’t God long for our faithfulness in the life he has given to us? But he gives us more grace. This is why it says, “God stands against the proud, but favors the humble”. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Cry out in sorrow, mourn, and weep! Let your laughter become mourning and your joy become sadness. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:4‭-‬10

The three boys in the furnace soon met with their protector inside the heat of that moment where their faith as tested.

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were bound, still dressed in all their clothes, and thrown into the furnace of flaming fire. ( Now the king’s command had been rash, and the furnace was heated to such an extreme that the fire’s flame killed the very men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to it.) So these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell, bound, into the furnace of flaming fire. Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in shock and said to his associates, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” They answered the king, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He replied, “Look! I see four men, unbound, walking around inside the fire, and they aren’t hurt! And the fourth one looks like one of the gods.”
Daniel 3:21‭-‬25

In the heat of the battle, where the rubber meets the road. Yes, when the time has been called and the edict called. When you are in the Thick of it, this is precisely where our Lord is present with us.

Yes, the trials come. But our God is faithful.
I thank God for the trials. They have been the evidence needed to increase my faith.
God is able!

In the midst of your time of oppression… When life seems to be impossible, this is where the Lord manifests his power.

So if you are facing some dark days. If calamity has come, remember, His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His grace is sufficient for each difficult moment of our lives.

His arm is not shortened. His love is still able to lift you and me up from despair.
His merc shows up fresh and new every morning.
His faithfulness stays with those who believe in him, all the day long.

And what if we face the last enemy? What if the prognosis is fatal? What if our days are done?
Then there is still hope in God.

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalms 16:11

This is also why I’m suffering the way I do, but I’m not ashamed. I know the one in whom I’ve placed my trust. I’m convinced that God is powerful enough to protect what he has placed in my trust until that day.
2 Timothy 1:12 CEB

I can trust in the one who has saved me and has forgiven my sins. He is the one who holds my life in his hands.

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah
Psalms 49:15

For great is thy mercy toward me: And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
Psalm 86:13

So, not even death has any claim on my life.

Jesus has set me free.
That same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… yes Yahweh, Jehovah. He is one with God.
John 3 tells us,
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:16‭-‬17

This same Jesus who John wrote about saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:1‭-‬3

This Jesus who died and rose again, He is my Lord and God.
His is Yeshua Hamashiah. Jesus the Messiah.
He was that fouth man the king saw with the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. He is the same God who is able to carry you from this life to eternity.

So, today, I pray, you are a Believer. Today is the day of salvation. There is still hope. You can still come to him.

Then you will not be afraid, for His perfect peace casts out all fear.

May This Word Encourage you today.