Daniel 3:17-18
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us[a] from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
This is the extremity of the challenge to any person’s loyalty to the Lord. Deny him and live; be faithful to him and be thrown into a fire. While the challenges we face are rarely so confronting, the same principle applies. We stay faithful to the Lord and entrust ourselves to his care.
There are important lessons here for our boldness levels. Firstly, these young men know that the Lord can rescue them from the fire. The implication is that if he does not it is because he intends them to go into it. The same applies to our challenges. If we are thrust into a difficult situation because of our loyalty to Jesus, we can be confident the Lord is carrying out his purposes through it. Secondly, they are completely sure that the Lord will rescue them from the king. They knew that even if the king killed them, he would not have any ultimate victory because they would go to be with the Lord. That means for us, that no matter what problems others may cause for us, we retain the eternal blessedness won for us by our Lord Jesus.
The conclusion is always that we remain loyal to our Lord and trust him to deal with the consequences. Christ Jesus is our boldness.
David Johnston
