Taking It to Work:
There were some incredibly hard choices made by men and women in our Bible, but maybe because we have heard the stories so many times before, the choices don’t come across so incredible…but they indeed were.
Think of the story of those three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that made a choice not to bow to the big gold statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Now keep in mind everyone was bowing down to that big gold statue, from the highest governor to the lowest servant; nations and people of every language. It was the law, with an immediate death sentence if you didn’t obey it. You bow or you burn, or in the context of our devotional today, it might be: You compromise or you’re fired.
It may not be that severe for you, but I think we all know how easy it is to compromise what we know is right, or who we truly want to be inside, just to please a boss, or a customer or to avoid embarrassment, rejection, ridicule or other maybe more serious consequences.
Fear of any of those consequences is a major catalyst for compromise in our lives, and in time can push us to become people we are not proud to be; but that driving fear, it is misplaced.
Fearing people, and what they might think or do, instead of fearing God, and what He might think or do, is a very bad trade. Contrast our situations with that of those three young men, not caring what anybody thought, and even knowing full well the high probability of an incredibly painful death, being thrown alive into a glowing hot furnace, they still stood their ground on what they knew was right. In their minds, it was obvious; facing the fires of Nebuchadnezzar was far less fearful than facing their God if they were to give themselves to something they knew was wrong.
Making the right decision, under pressure to make a wrong one, is a very common temptation in the workplace – from promising the impossible to close the deal, to the temptation to embezzle at high corporate levels, from the common tendency to use the profanity of our coworkers, to the signing of papers that are not exactly true. These can be real tests of who we are, who we truly fear, and to whom we truly bow.
Pray that you will have His conquering, uncompromising strength when you need it, as His Word works in you, today.
Daniel 3:16-18 (ESV) – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Prv 9:10a (ESV) – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…
Prv 29:25 (ESV) – The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Ps 118:5-9 (ESV) – Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
Listening to the Holy Spirit:
He who resists fire is not a fool, but he who resists righteousness under threat of fire, will find the fire was the better path. The time is coming, and has now come, when right is deemed wrongful, and the truth is ridiculed as fable. To stand for My precepts is to stand against fire, a fire of fallen man to quench the Spirit of those who follow My voice. Do not give up. You must run the race through the thickets. Harm will threaten, and will be. Follow what you know is right, written in My Word, stored in your heart, for he who endures will receive the crown. The world is being destroyed to evil. The way of the man without My Spirit is the way of death. Do not yield for their flames. Avoid with prudence, but do not give way. Call on My Name and find your strength.
