Morning by Morning—Daily Prayer Journey with Tommy Hays: "Who is the God Who will Deliver Us?"

Friday, January 08, 2021

"Who is the God Who will Deliver Us?" - January 8, 2021

Morning by Morning, January 8 - "Who is the God Who will Deliver Us?"

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I look to You and You alone as the Rock of my Salvation -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...

"Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, 'Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?'

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let Him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up'" (Daniel 3:13-18).

Their faith was tested, but they did not falter. They were sentenced to death and then sought to be put to death, along with their faith and their voice against the will and ways of the ruler of the age -- painfully and publicly. But they would not surrender nor retreat from the passion You placed in their hearts to stand firm for Your Word and Your ways in the midst of a world out of their control.

These faithful sons of Israel were faithful to the God of Israel and would bow down to no other -- not even in the face of "a furnace of blazing fire" and the "furious rage" of the ruler of the land that sought to constrain them and consume them, to silence them and destroy them. Their faith was not in a person or an institution; their faith was in You.

The ruler of their age asked, "Who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?" They responded to his fury with their faith. They endured the fiery furnace with their eyes on the One who is "a Consuming Fire" (Hebrews 12:29). And they overcame the fiery furnace in the embrace of the One who was with them always, even in the midst of the fire and the fury of the ruler of their age. Even he had to look and see the salvation of their God: "'Look!' he answered, 'I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!" (Daniel 3:25 NKJV)

You are the God who delivers us. You are the God who is always with us. And You are the God who continues to empower us to stand firm in our faith with You, no matter what we go through.

We may have to go through the fire. But it's often in the midst of the fire that our faith is truly tested and purely refined. "The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times" (Psalm 12:6).

Let us not bow down to any god but You. Let us stand firm in the faith You've put in our hearts -- not faith in any person or any institution, but a faith in You.

^"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for (us), who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this (we) rejoice, even if now for a little while (we) have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of (our) faith --being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed!" (1 Peter 1:3-7)

Yes, Lord. Let it be so. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, may you keep looking to the God who will deliver you through every fiery trial you face, faithfully trusting in Him alone, with no surrender and no retreat, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. And I continue to join with you in prayer for our nation through these challenging times. God bless you, my friend!