Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (1)

“The king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego admin-istrators over the province of Babylon.”   Da 2:49 NIV

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew if they refused to bow down to the ninety-foot-tall statue of King Nebuchadnezzar, they would be executed. But they made a defining decision to stand up for what was right, rather than bow down to what was wrong. Most of us could have come up with a dozen rationalizations: “I’m bowing down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside,” or “I’ll ask for forgiveness right after I get back up,” or “What good am I to God if I’m dead?” But it’s our rationalizations that often annul His revelations. When we compromise our integrity, we don’t leave room for divine intervention. When we take matters into our own hands, we take God out of the equation. When we try to manipulate a situation, we miss out on the miracle. If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had compromised their integrity and bowed to the statue, they may still have been delivered from the fiery furnace—but it would have been by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, not God. And it would have been from, not through. They would have forfeited their testimony by failing the test. And while they would have saved their lives, they would have sacrificed their integrity. It was their integrity that triggered the miracle. It was their integrity that allowed God to show up and show off. Their integrity paid off: “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon” (Da 3:30 NIV). Bottom line: When you do the right thing, God will do the right thing by you!

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