Heroes of the Faith, Part 9Sample

Pay the Price

Bible story: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - Daniel 3

Theme verse: Hebrews 11:16

Earlier we saw how Judah went into exile to Babylon. Now we will begin to see the amazing ways God was with them there. Three young Jewish men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were brought to Babylon and were given the job of running the Babylonian province. The king decided to set up a big statue and have all his leaders bow down to it, with the threat of being thrown in a furnace for disobedience.

People think they can change our beliefs just by threatening us. They don’t expect us to be willing to pay the price. But unlike their gods, our God already led the way and paid the price for us, and we can even be joyful with every opportunity to do the same for God.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose to stay faithful to their God and pay the price. They knew God could save them, but they could not know if God would save them on earth or in heaven. The guards threw them into the furnace with clothes and everything, though clothes were very valuable.

Today, when people reject Jesus’s words, they may even reject all the good things that God does in your life, too, just like they rejected Jesus’ miracles and God’s authority in Him (Matthew 12:24). But it doesn’t matter what they think because God’s opinion of you is the most important. All those good works He is doing through you He sees as though you are wearing fancy white clothes (Revelation 19:8).

Instead of saving them from going into the furnace, God saved them inside the furnace. In the same way, sometimes God will allow difficult situations and save you right in the middle of them. Just like the fire burned the ropes but didn’t touch the men, perhaps God will even use the situation on the outside to change your heart and give you freedom on the inside. God wants freedom for you (Galatians 5:1).

Remember the treasure of a close relationship with God in hard situations? Here we see it again, because God was with them in the fire. In the same way, Jesus already paid the ultimate price for you, and He will stay with you in your situation.

It is tempting to avoid the people who threaten you. But when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, the people crowded around them and saw the miracle and praised God. They didn’t even smell like smoke! In the same way, let even those who threatened you come near so they can “smell” God’s presence and freedom in you. (2 Corinthians 2:16)

If they had given in to the threats, this amazing story wouldn’t have happened. They had to be willing to pay the price, even when they did not know what God would do in the situation. They had to look forward to heaven and consider God’s opinion to be most important.

I choose to pay the price for following God.

Questions:

1. What price are you willing to pay for the kingdom of God?

2. Must I love everyone?

3. What does God want from me?

Application to life:

Draw a picture of heaven. Think of all your favorite things on earth: family, toys, clothes, pets, nice cars, the sky, flowers, etc. God promises to make new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17). The same creative God who made this fun and wonderful world is making an even better one! All the good things will be there and none of the bad things.