Part 3: Jesus did not die on the cross for us in vain so our hardships as born-again Christians are not in vain

We need to stand our ground even when we are thrown in the deep end

We need to go through certain phases and process for God to bless us.  Knowing that, we need to be WILLING to go through challenges. I believe that God will never throw us in the fire without a plan to take us out. Yes, He might not come in the physical to take us out but our faith will. He wants to see if we will stand our ground regardless of the circumstances.

Take the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, found in the book of Daniel, as an example.  The king Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to worship a Gold statue. However, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to this statue. This angered the King and he asked them if he were to throw them into a fire will the God that they believe in save them. The three men replied that God is able and that He will save them from the fire but even if He doesn’t save them they will still not bow down to that statue. So the king ordered for the furnace to be heated and for the three men to be tied up and thrown in the furnace.  As the king looked on waiting for the men to be consumed by the fire, he noticed that there were four people in the furnace instead of three.  They were protected by an angel of God and as a result Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the furnace unharmed. This shocked the king but this led to the king praising the God that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego serve.

How many of us have such faith that when we are tested against all odds, we will stand our ground and believe that God is able? I’m one of those people that have faith but there’s always that niggling element of doubt at the back of my mind- that limits the impact of God’s work in my life. Because I do not fully trust Him in those tough times, I will not be able to experience the full measure of His blessings as He delivers me from my struggles. What we don’t realise is that exercising our faith is not just mere obedience but we set an example to the people around us so that they can be encouraged to praise the God we serve. Thus, when “life” strikes- that is the ups and downs- we need to be able to stand firm and refuse to give up on God or even give up on ourselves. You can be assured that “life” will strike and no matter how hard it is we should not let our circumstances get the better of us because that gives the devil a foothold in our lives.

In the words of Pastor Mark Gungor as inspired by the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we must maintain the mantra that “God is able and He can but even if He doesn’t , we will not bend nor bow down- we will remain firm in our faith!”