Discovering Destiny (Part 76): Don't Bow To The Pressure Around You
Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future. On Friday, Daniel asked the king to promote his friends. Today, we see what kind of men Daniel brought with him.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT"But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever."
Luke 10:20 Mirror"It's time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven's perspective."
1 John 3:10 Mirror"There is a very visible and vast difference between living one's life from your God identity or from a fallen man's mindset."
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Daniel 3:1 NLT"King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon."
Daniel 3:4-6 NLT"Then a herald shouted out, 'People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king's command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.'"
Daniel 3:12 ERV"There are some Judeans who you made important officials in the province of Babylon that ignored your order, King. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They don't worship your gods, and they didn't bow down to worship the gold idol you set up."
Daniel 3:13-15 NLT"Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?'"
Daniel 3:16-18 NLT"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.'"
Supporting scriptures:
Ephesians 6:13 ERV"That is why you need to get God's full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing."
Psalm 125:1 TPT"Those who trust in the Lord are as unshakable, as unmovable as mighty Mount Zion!"
Luke 1:37 TPT"Not one promise from God is empty of power. Nothing is impossible with God!"
Ephesians 3:20 ERV"With God's power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of."
2 Timothy 1:12 AMPC"And this is why I am suffering as I do. Still I am not ashamed, for I know (perceive, have knowledge of, and am acquainted with) Him Whom I have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on), and I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me and which I have committed [to Him] until that day."
Proverbs 3:5-6 TPT"Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go."
Setting the Stage:
Not long ago, Daniel stood in front of King Nebuchadnezzar and told him he was the head of gold in his dream, and that one day his kingdom would come crashing down. The king fell on his face, promoted Daniel, and put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in charge of the affairs of the province. But the next time we see Nebuchadnezzar, he is building again. He made a gold statue "ninety feet tall and nine feet wide" and set it up on the plain of Dura. Not a head of gold this time. The whole thing was gold.
Then the king called every leader in the empire to the dedication. Governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, and officials came from every province and lined up in front of that statue. A herald stood up and shouted the king's command. When the music started, everybody was to bow down and worship the statue. And there was a warning attached: "Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." Then the horns, the flutes, the harps, and the pipes started playing, and the whole crowd went down to the ground. Well, almost the whole crowd. Three young men were still standing.
It did not take long for somebody to notice. Some of the king's astrologers went straight to the palace and said, "There are some Judeans who you made important officials in the province of Babylon that ignored your order, King." The king flew into a rage and had the three brought in. Then he did something you might not expect. He gave them "one more chance." The music would play again, and this time they could bow. Then he asked them a question: "And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not argue, and they did not beg. They said, "we do not need to defend ourselves before you." Then they told the most powerful man on earth, "the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't," they were not bowing.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. You Do Not Have To Go Along Just To Get Along.
Picture that plain. Thousands of the most important people in Babylon, dressed in their best, standing in front of a ninety-foot statue. The music starts, and the whole crowd goes down at once. Nobody wanted to be the one left standing. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stayed on their feet. They were not trying to make a scene. They simply knew who they belonged to, and that settled it before the band ever played. Their stand was decided long before the music started. Paul said it this way: when you have finished the whole fight, "you will still be standing."
How this applies to you:
-- Everybody bowing does not make it right. This is a very important lesson to learn, especially for young people. Don’t always go with the crowd, because sometimes the crowd is wrong.
-- The crowd on that plain was full of smart, educated, important people. They had titles, positions, and access to the king, and every one of them hit the ground when the music played. Popular is not the same as right.
-- You don’t have to laugh at jokes that do not align with your heart. You do not have to compromise your character to get along with people at work. While being social is a critical part of your life and your life’s assignment, never violate who you are just to fit in. Sometimes God wants you to stick out!
-- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not need a crowd to stand, because they already knew whose they were.
-- The pressure to blend in is real. It will feel normal, look harmless, and tell you everybody else is already doing it. But that does not mean it is right in God’s eyes.
-- Back in Daniel chapter 1, these four young men turned down the king's food before the pressure ever came. That decision was still holding years later on the plain of Dura.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and you do not have to bow to anything to get there.
-- The world is not always going to understand you, and that is okay. God's grace will keep you standing when everybody around you is on the ground.
-- Being in sync with God will sometimes make you look like you are out of sync with this world, and you must learn to be okay with that.
2. The Same God Who Promoted You Can Keep You There.
Look closely at what those astrologers said to the king: "There are some Judeans who you made important officials in the province of Babylon." They did not lead with the statue. They led with the promotion. On Friday, Daniel asked the king to promote his friends, and God moved. Now the same promotion that put them in charge put them on the radar. The people who wanted those seats were watching. But the God who gave them the job was watching too, and He was not about to let a jealous report undo what He had done.
How this applies to you:
-- Favor will get you noticed. I have taught you this before: the favor of God attracts both success and haters.
-- The same favor that opens doors with people in power can stir up jealousy in people who wanted that seat. Do not be surprised when promotion comes with a few critics.
-- The astrologers did not report anybody else in that crowd. They went looking for the three men God had just promoted. Expect to be talked about when God is moving in your life.
-- You do not have to defend a promotion you never earned in the first place.
-- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego got the job by grace, because Daniel asked and God moved. What grace gave you, grace can keep.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and no report filed against you can cancel it.
-- The psalmist said those who trust in the Lord are "as unshakable, as unmovable as mighty Mount Zion!" The people talking about you cannot move you, because the same God who put you there can keep you there.
-- When you're settled in God, you can pray for those who come up against you, bless those who curse you, and do good to those who despitefully use you. You can do this because you're convinced their poison cannot stop your purpose.
3. Nobody Has More Power Over Your Life Than The God You Serve.
Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage, and then he made his offer. He gave them "one more chance" to bow. And then he asked, "And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?" Two things are very clear here. The king misunderstood how much power he actually had, and he had no earthly idea how much power our God actually has. He was talking big about a furnace he controlled, to men whose God controls everything. Paul said God "can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of." The king was about to find out who really had the power.
How this applies to you:
-- The enemy will always overstate his power.
-- Notice the king gave them "one more chance." The pressure rarely asks only once. It keeps coming back to see if you will give in this time.
-- The boss, the bill, or the bad report may be loud, but it does not have the final word. In other words, the enemy will attempt to get you to nurse and rehearse the bad news over and over again in your heart and mind. But if you, instead, meditate and medicate on God's Word, you will be in a position to do what the Holy Spirit leads you to do.
-- Even when the Holy Spirit is whispering, and the bad news is yelling, those who are led by God are not moved by external pressures and conditions. We are moved internally by God.
-- Nothing on that plain was bigger than the God those three young men served, not the statue, not the king, and not the furnace.
-- Nebuchadnezzar could threaten their bodies, but he could not touch their identity. He had a furnace, but they had a God.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born. No king, no decree, and no furnace gets a vote on it.
-- The angel told Mary, "Nothing is impossible with God!" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew there was nothing their God could not do, and you can know it too. When you are fully persuaded that your God is bigger than your problem, you will not be moved!
4. You Can Trust God Even When You Do Not Know How He Will Do It.
Listen to how they answered: "we do not need to defend ourselves before you." Then, "the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty." That is faith talking. Then they said, "But even if he doesn't," and that is trust talking. They knew God could. They did not know exactly how He would. And their stand did not depend on the details. Their trust did not come with conditions. I call this a settled stand.
How this applies to you:
-- You do not owe the world an explanation for your faith.
-- They told the king, "the God whom we serve is able to save us." They did not question God's power, and you do not have to either. There is literally nothing God cannot do!
-- Their minds were made up about God before the furnace was ever lit, so the heat could not change their answer. When you are fully persuaded about God, nothing the devil or the people he influences can do will stop you.
-- When God has told you what He will do, have faith that He will do it. When He has not told you yet, Solomon's word still stands: "Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions."
-- You must learn to trust God even when you don't know what He's doing.
-- Paul said, "I am [positively] persuaded that He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me." You can put your whole life in those same hands.
-- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know how God would do it, but they knew He was able. I have taught you this before: if you don't bow, you won't burn! Tomorrow, the king turns up the heat, and you are going to see what God does with three men who would not bow.
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You that there is nothing You cannot do!
I do not have to go along just to get along!
When everyone around me bows, Your grace keeps me standing!
The same God who promoted me is able to keep me there!
No report filed against me can cancel the destiny You planned!
Nobody has more power over my life than the God I serve!
I will never question Your power, because nothing is impossible with You!
When I know Your will, I have faith that You will do it!
When I have not heard from You yet, I still trust You!
I will not bow to the pressure around me!
In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus' name. Amen!
This is Today's Word. Apply it and prosper!
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