Obeying God Reaps Rewards

It is a hard task to be a child of God. But think about all the great rewards child of God can have (Revelation 21:22-27). It is place in the end where we are not ashamed to call God our God and we are His people (Hebrews 11:16).


However there are many battles that we do face today in the world. Things that can hinder our obedience to god if we allow such things to happen. For instance government is making it harder in this world to be a Christian. The rules and laws that are being passed makes it harder to be a Christian. There are many countries that do not have these same freedoms that we can enjoy. In fact they make it illegal to practice Christianity in certain countries.

Still there are people who are continuing to preach the gospel in these areas. We should feel encouraged by their actions like this. We even have examples of people in the Bible who made a stand like this.

Notice in Daniel 3 where we can find this example. We are introduced to three individuals that took a stand to turn to God instead of man. King Nebuchadnezzar made a decree and an image for all to fall down and worship (Daniel 3:4-7). This however is a direct violation of the law as God stated in Deut. 5:6-9. God explained clearly that idolatry was not to be followed. God is jealous and does not want anyone to worship any other gods.

However, in this decree the king decided this was what he wanted. Because of this it was brought to his attention that people in authority under his rule were not following this decree (Daniel 3:8-18). He offered them another chance to fall down and worship this image but they still declined.

They had an understanding like Peter that it was better to serve the living God than the rule of man (Acts 5:29). However we want to be clear on certain things that we do have to follow the laws of man. However if it is different than what the law of God is then we must follow God first man second. This is what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego did. They followed until the king made a decree that went against God and His will.

The King be furious went ahead with the consequences that would come upon those who didn’t fall down and worship the king and this image. They were to be thrown in the fiery furnace. Even with death on the line these three individuals wouldn’t not bow down to these rules. It is with this that we can commend them for their obedience to God. It is this example that we see that we should have the same desire to obey God and not falter in this life of turning away from God.

In the end of this they were thrown in the fiery furnace. But, they were not forgotten! God took care of these three men because of their obedience to God. They came out of this fire with no hair burnt on their heads nor even the smell of fire when they came out. Three men went in and four were seen in there (Daniel 3:19-25). God sent help to these individuals in their time of need.

It is a lesson to us that we should recognize that God takes care of His people (I Peter 2:9). We can be His people if we will obey His will (Matthew 7:21). In the end God rewards and takes care of His people (Revelation 22:14). In seeing the example of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego we can see that God prevails takes care and rewards those who will obey His will. Are you obeying God’s will?

Daniel Sanders