Words of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 18 Nov 2008

Words of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 18 Nov 2008

Through you they shall know that I am the Lord. If we are still in doubt that God will use us to reveal to the World that He is God, then I hope that the life of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be a source of encouragement to you. I cannot reiterate this point enough. God uses ordinary, unschooled, normal, untrained men and women, to fulfill HIS will. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood out to me not because of their wisdom, but because they knew where their wisdom came from. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace because they did not bow down and worship the image of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3). This is the key. They knew who their God is. Questioned by the King, these three men responded in this manner, We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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 (Daniel 3:16-18). These men were not just men of wisdom. They knew who God was. They relied on God, to know God means they had an intimate and personal relationship with God. They did not fear men. They did not fear losing money in a bad economy. Furious at these three men, the King orders the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than normal. It was so hot that it even killed the soldiers who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Despite all this, before the King’s eyes he saw four men walking around in the fire, unbound, and unharmed, the fourth even looked like the son of God. I pray that we would not faint, weaken, and shrivel at the works of the enemy. I have said this before and I will continue to say it. The very fact that the devil is trying everything in his power to stop you means how much God loves you and how much God is going to use you. Let us not give up! © 2008 Shaun Lee. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com