Stand up or bow down

In the book of Daniel, we find the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Jerusalem was invaded by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. In their captivity, the King builds a golden image (idol). His command is that whenever the people hear the music played, they must all bow down and worship the idol. Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were captives. They were not from Babylon, so they did not worship like the Babylonians. They believed in and worshipped the one true living God. So when they heard the music play, they refused to bow down. The consequence of this action was death by being thrown into a fiery furnace. They were willing to risk their lives for what and who they believed in. You should read the rest of this story; it is a fantastic testimony of God’s saving power. (You can find it in the book of Daniel chapter 3)

These three men were set on standing for their convictions instead of bowing down to the culture.

In the time we live, we are being pressured to bow down to an idol. As believers, we have a choice to make. Will we bow down to the world’s gods, or will we stand up for what we believe? I will put it this way: will we bow down to culture or stand up for our convictions?

First off, how do we develop convictions? Well, we don’t just make them up. We don’t base our convictions on emotion, opinion, or culture. Our convictions should be found in the Word of God. It worries me to see so many Christians blending in so well to the world’s ways; I believe this happens when we do not know our Word. When we don’t know the Word of God, we can turn to many things and think they are right. We must know the Word of God.

We cannot lose ourselves to the culture of our world. We must know God’s Word and walk in our true identity in Christ. However, this lifestyle does not come easy. There will be persecution when we stand up against the culture of the world. There will be a fight! But remember, you don’t fight alone. The Lord covers us. He protects us. He is with us!

When these three men stood for their convictions, they were thrown into this fiery furnace. But when the King threw them in, He noticed that there were FOUR men in the fire. He even expressed that the fourth man looked like “the Son of God.” I genuinely believe that the reward for them standing up to this King was not that they were saved from the fire, but that they could stand in the presence of the True Living God.

We don’t stand against culture just to fight and argue with others. We aren’t just trying to prove a point. We stand against culture because it pleases God when we stand for Him. And our reward for this is that we can LIVE in the presence of the true living God. That is the reward to be with Him.

So when I am tempted to bow down, I can stand because I know I do not stand alone, but I stand in His presence.