Good morning and welcome to Help For Today. I appreciate you tuning in each and every day as we have gone through the book of Daniel chapter three. And we looked at the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their stand. And we saw yesterday how they were thrown into the fiery furnace. But lo and behold, the presence of God showed up in a visible, tangible way and spared their lives. And King Nebuchadnezzar looks in the fire and he sees not three men bound, but four men loosed, walking freely.

Then in verse number 26, Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning, fiery furnace and spoke and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come hither.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire and the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors being gathered together saw these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was the hair of their heads singed, neither were their coats changed, smell of the fire passed on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God. Therefore I make a decree that every people, nation, and language which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.”

We find in this story that they are brought out of the fiery furnace, untouched, unharmed, in perfect condition, and King Nebuchadnezzar gives glory to God. I find that when we take a stand for Christ, regardless of what the outcome may be, you see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had no certainty. They had no way of knowing that they would come out of that fiery furnace alive, and yet they stood firm in their belief. And they stood firm in their stand. And when brought into that fiery furnace, the presence of God showed up. But I find that as they’re brought out, God receives all the glory.

You may be taking a stand, and you don’t know how it’s going to end. You don’t know what the end result may be. You don’t know what the outcome may be. And may I encourage you by reminding you that when we stand, we don’t do so for our own glory. We don’t stand for our own personal benefit. When we take a stand based on the Word of God, we are standing for the glory of God and God alone. And that if God receives the glory, whatever may happen to us may happen. But stand so that God may receive the glory.

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Chris Fanara

Chris Fanara, Christian School Principal

Bro. Fanara serves as the Principal of North Valley Baptist Schools. He and his wife, Tabitha, are graduates of NVBS and have been faithfully working in the school for thirteen years.