King Nebuchadnezzar forced his royal officials from greatest to least to bow before a 90-foot image of gold. Otherwise, they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. This is a counterfeit of God’s truth in which all those who refuse to bow before Jesus in this life will be thrown into the fiery lake of hell in the next life. The devil works very hard to plant fear of death in our hearts so that we will compromise and bow before false gods and religions. The world gives into these fears, but we Christians must not shrink back in the face of persecution.

Daniel’s three friends – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – refused to bow and were brought before the king. He gave them one more chance and planted fear that no god could save them. But they boldly told him that even if they were thrown into the fiery furnace, they trusted that God was more than able to save them (Isaiah 43:2). And even if he chose not to, they trusted God and loved God faithfully and would not serve false gods nor bow before the king’s idol. Their faith in God, who is able to save them if he chose, extinguished all the flaming arrows of doubt in the spiritual battle (Eph 6:16). They believed that nothing could separate them from the love of God (Ro 8: 37-38).
Application: Father, I repent my fear of persecution and the spirit of compromise. By faith, I trust in your power and love and will serve you only.
One Word: I will serve God only