stand strong

Good Evening Friends!

I hope you had a fantastic day today –

I have had an interesting day;

One of those days that makes you sit and reflect at the end of the day

Have you ever experienced a situation –

One which should have left you feeling a certain way,

But had the complete opposite affect?

I had one of those moments today –

Two actually

It made me think of a response from three of God’s faithful servants in the Old Testament

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

These three men were faced with persecution and threatened with bodily harm;

And, their enemy, who had heard of their determination to honor the LORD, was furious;

Then, in his rage, the king declared, “Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Daniel 3:15

The three Hebrew men responded, “King Nebuchadnezzar, 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 deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 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.” Daniel 3:16

I love the way the Message Version says it:

“Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up”

The kings words were meant to instill fear –

However, those very words, words meant to intimidate them,

Those words had the opposite affect – instead it emboldened them!

People in our modern-day society make reference to people ‘doubling-down’

Well, these three had to be the originators of ‘double-down’

Some might refer to them as ‘strong-willed',

But that is what I like about them and their story.

I have often told the tale of my youngest son and his incredible determination:

From the time he was very young, he has had an extremely strong will;

I would even dare to say that it is a quality he possessed before he was born

The pregnancy with him was nothing like what I experienced carrying his two older brothers

And, he was almost two weeks late! He was determined to do things his way, on his timetable

It was a constant struggle, a war of wills, a tango of temperaments;

My son determined to have his way – and me determined to control the situation

HOWEVER – everything changed one day

I was praying about/against that willfulness in my son;

Then I heard the LORD speak so clearly, that it might as well have been audible:

‘Stop praying against that trait … I gave him that characteristic

It does not need to be rebuked. It needs to be trained and harnessed

Because when he wants what I want – HE WILL BE UNSTOPPABLE!’

You see – there is a strength that comes from confidence in self

                In knowing who you are as a person … this is foolishness, vanity and futility

Then – there is a strength that comes from confidence in the LORD;

                In knowing Whose you are … this is true strength, wisdom & power!

When you know the LORD – you are able to walk and talk, a little differently;

‘The people who know their God shall display strength and do great exploits’ Daniel 11:32

So, my encouragement to you this evening – stand strong in the LORD

AFTER ALL –

‘…if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God,

You cannot overthrow it – lest you even be found to fight against God’ Acts 5:38-39

Have a Blessed Evening!