Standing Strong

• Do you feel more confident around your friends than you do when you’re alone? Why or why not?

• Which of your friends do you think are spiritually strong?

“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 3:17-18

Few people have faced the kind of danger Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced. The three godly Israelite friends had been taken captive after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. In captivity, they maintained their faithfulness to God, and God blessed them for it. They became trusted advisers of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

The king’s other advisers were jealous, so they concocted a scheme to use the Israelites’ faithfulness against them. They convinced Nebuchadnezzar to erect a giant statue of himself and make a law that said anyone who didn’t bow down to the statue would be thrown into a fiery furnace. They knew the Israelites would bow only to God.

Who knows how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would have reacted individually to such a life-threatening situation? What we do know is that together they refused to disobey God and bow down to the idol. So together they were thrown into the fiery furnace. And together they were miraculously protected from the flames by God.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” It’s good to have Christian friends who will stand strong and encourage us to do right.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for giving us friends who help keep us strong. Continue to give us the strength we need to obey you, regardless of the consequences. Amen.