Lent – Day 31: “No matter what happens, we will never serve another God…”

Daniel 3: 14 – 28.

“If our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the fiery furnace and from your power, O king, he will save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have erected.”  

The willingness of the three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, to serve the Lord was not dependent on God’s power to save them. They were willing to serve God whether God saves them or not. If they had died in the flame would we have found their lives attractive? We sometimes ask the Lord why bad things happen to good people. But our lives only become bad and sad when we no longer listen to God’s voice and when something or someone other than God possesses our heart; otherwise the life of the just is always in God’s hands. To be in God’s hands is the best thing that can ever happen to a human being. And to love the Lord is the greatest reward of being a believer.

It is important to notice that God did not remove them from the fire but entered the fire with them and they were unharmed by it. When God entered the furnace, the fire became cool and bearable for the three men. When we encounter difficulties, God enters into our difficulties with us and gives us the strength to overcome it. He does not remove the problems but gives us the courage and the grace to face them and to grow from them. All things work together unto good, for those who love the Lord.

As we get closer to the passion week, may God gives us the grace to see Him in our difficult moments. May God bless you all.