Trustworthy: Learning courage from the life of DanielSampel

Day 2—Bowing Down to Another God

Let’s not read even one word of the Bible today without asking God for insight and wisdom. Praying for illumination before reading God’s Word is a great discipline to cultivate for our entire life. Take a moment to ask Him for everything He wants to teach us in His Word today.

Now we are ready to get into His amazing Word and glean from our friend and mentor Daniel. Our reading today offers a glimpse into a life-and-death scenario involving Daniel’s closest friends and coleaders: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Sometimes the Bible reads like a heart-pounding suspense novel. 

King Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful ruler of his day. He was filled with vanity and a grand sense of superiority. He was determined to be in complete authority, both politically and religiously. He commanded the rulers of every province of his kingdom to gather for the dedication of his statue. Satraps, prefects, and governors, the highest level of province leaders, were instructed to gather near the statue to hear the king’s command. The edict rang out loud and clear:

People of every nation and language, you are commanded: When

you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and

every kind of music, you are to fall facedown and worship the gold

statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. But whoever does not

fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of

blazing fire. (3:4–6, CSB)

Great courage would be needed for a leader to stand up against Nebuchadnezzar’s command and threat. I guarantee there were some knees knocking among the crowd of leaders. Even if they planned to bow, their hearts must have been racing. King Nebuchadnezzar was known for his temper and cruelty, breathing out murderous threats to his leaders and subjects as well as his enemies.

You and I may not face a threat to our lives if we don’t bow our knee to the idols of our day, but at times we all keenly feel the pressure to bow. 

It still takes courage today to say yes to God and no to our culture. Take a moment and ask for God’s help to turn a deaf ear to the invitations to worship anything but Him. Ask Him to reveal any areas you may be unaware of where you are focusing on things that fall short of His plans for your life.