We Will Not Serve Your Gods

"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 3.18.

Some years ago, I used to regularly visit and pray for a non-Christian friend of mine who was seriously ill with terminal cancer. I had told him about my Jesus whom I believe is the Only Saviour and the Great Physician! He and his dear wife said that they were willing to believe in Jesus provided He healed him of his cancer. A very natural statement you would expect from non-Christians who do not know Jesus Christ as God!

But the real problem is when devout Christians begin to doubt and think about Jesus the same way the non-Christians do. When they are faced with some terrible situation like a major accident or critical illness, it is natural that they believe and pray that the Lord will deliver them. But the problem comes when God doesn’t. It is then that their faith hangs in the balance!

I had a devout Christian friend who also was stricken with terminal cancer. His dear wife and daughters ardently prayed and believed for a miracle cure. All their friends and the church too prayed fervently. But he was going steadily downhill. One day, I asked the wife what the visiting doctor had to say about his condition. She told me that he gave her husband only a few days to live. Then I told her that she, her daughters and her husband too should be ready to accept whatever the will of God was! At this she was deeply agitated and upset! She asked me, “How could you say something like that when we are believing for a miracle?” The Lord took away the husband. Thank God the family’s faith survived in spite of the setback in their hope and belief!

How different was the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Look at their faith and their stand in the face of impending death in the fiery furnace. Listen to their bold statement of faith to the mighty king, “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."

May the Lord give you such daring faith for you do not know what the future holds. In this world we shall have tribulation for sure. Jesus said so! (Jn16.33).

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, give me the faith that will stand the test of time and trials. Help me to say with the apostle Paul, “to me to live is Christ and to die is gain!” (Phil 1.21). Amen.