Even if…..

 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  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

Today I woke up excited about the events of the day. I had been waiting several months for this day to come and my mind was whirling with joy. Then in a moment, with a few words and actions from a participant, the joy vanished and frustration, anger and resentment were knocking at the door desiring to come in. My mind began to defend and justify my feelings when the Lord gave me today’s passage.

As I read and reread the passage I took in the message that the Lord was giving me and He helped me break it down and apply it to my situation.

First I needed to take my thoughts captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5) Being frustrated, angry and resentful was taking me away from God and if I wanted to see this through the eyes of truth I needed to take hold of those thoughts immediatley.

Then I realized that many circumstances in life throw us into the blazing furnace of decision. How will we respond? If we’ve taken our thoughts of fear, anger, jealousy, resentment, etc. captive and made them obedient to Christ, before words or actions take place, we are then positioned to receive the deliverance that God will give either from the circumstances or through them.

Having made the decision to stand on God’s word I was able to resist serving the gods of frustration, anger, fear, selfishness and resentment that the enemy had set up and I stopped bowing down to them. No longer defending myself against the enemy, I was able to focus on trusting God for the outcome and His peace and joy returned.

The Lord showed me how the event would play out with or without the assistance of others and He reminded me that He would be there with me, right in the middle of it. Thank you Lord!