Daily Devotional For Thursday, September 10, 2026
Good morning Southside! I am following the One Year Chronological Bible reading suggestion and any Bible verses you see highlighted in bold (ex. John 3:16), means it is a link to that verse. All you have to do is click on the reference and it will take you to the verse online. Our daily devotional reading for today comes from Daniel 3. This is one of my favorite stories from Daniel and it was one of my favorite stories from the Bible as a child. It involves 3 friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These are their Babylonian names. Their Hebrew names were (see Daniel 1:17-19):
- Hananiah, which means “Yahweh is gracious” and “Beloved of the Lord.” This was Shadrach’s Jewish name.
- Mishael, which means “Who is what God is?” This was Meschach’ Jewish name.
- Azaraih, which means “Yahweh has helped” or “the Lord is my help.” This was Abednego’s Jewish name.
In Daniel 3 King Nebuchadnezzar had a 90-foot gold statue erected of himself and he gave specific orders that everyone in his kingdom had to bow down and worship it when they heard the call by a musical instrument (Dan. 3:5). Failure to do this would result in immediate death by being thrown into a fiery furnace. Daniel 3 reminds that God is sovereign no matter what happens to us. Years ago I read a book by Philip Yancey entitled, Where Is God When It Hurts? Yancey shares a true story about a young man named Brian Sternberg. I have abbreviated this story for time and space:
“Brian Sternberg was a nationally acclaimed track star who held several records in pole vault competition in the early 1960s. He made sports headlines every week and he remained consistently undefeated in outdoor competition. He even set a world record and he seemed to be on top of the world until July 2, 1963. That was the day he was working out on a trampoline as preparation for the U.S. Track Team’s tour of Russia. In a freak fall, he landed on his neck and heard a crack and immediately all sensation and movement in his arms and legs was gone.
Brian was a Christian and his faith was immediately put to the test. He faced a real possibility that he would be a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Brian said he had faith that God could and would heal him. Years later he was still in that wheelchair. The question is: Did God fail him? Or did he not have enough faith? Or, Did God ignore and forget Brian? Several years later Brian was asked to write an article for Look Magazine. He wrote these words: “Having faith is a necessary step toward one of two things. Being healed is one of them. Peace of mind, if healing does not come, is the other. Either one will suffice.”
Ten years after his accident, Brian got a visit from Yancey. Brian had been convinced by some well meaning Christians that it was still God’s will to heal Brian. They convinced him that if he had enough faith, he would walk again. Yancy said that as he left he realized that for Brian there were not two options left, but just one – complete healing. Instead of putting his faith in God, Brian was now putting his faith in his faith. When this did not happen, Brian failed to learn a valuable lesson: God is sovereign and as a result, Brian lost his peace of mind” (Source: Philip Yancy, Where Is God When It Hurts?, pp. 104, 109-110). Brian did live to the age of 69. He died on May 23, 2013 due to heart and lung failure. Doctors said though Brian was not expected to live no more than 5 years, they credited his faith in God for his longevity.
When we read Daniel 3 it is easy to love these stories and then wonder later, where is God when I hurt? What we see here in the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is genuine biblical faith. They had no assurance God would protect them and save them when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. First, biblical faith is faith in obedience to God’s sovereign commands no matter the outcome. Second, biblical faith is trusting God’s will no matter the outcome. This kind of faith will always help us stand firm when the heat is on us.
Every day at a specific time people and the king traveled to the plain of Dura and when the trumpet, lyre, horn, flute, zither or pipes sounded, everyone was to bow before this gold statue and worship King Nebuchadnezzar. The king and those plotting against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego looked around and everyone was bowing and worshiping except these 3. These 3 were defiant because of Exodus 20:4-5.
Many people may have thought if they were in the same place as these 3 Hebrew young men, “Oh, it won’t hurt to bow once. The Babylonians will not understand our Hebraic culture. Let’s not hurt our witness and offend them. God understands and in fact, no one else we know will know anyway. God is forgiving, slow to anger and He has put us in these positions to make a difference. Let’s not ruin that.” Such thinking is called “situational ethics.” Meaning – the situation determines one’s ethical response rather than one’s ethics determining one’s response. This is a total misunderstanding of the grace of God. Hebrews 13:15a says, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God” (NASB).
Many Christians and others use situational ethics all the time. For example, the fourth commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath holy. Yet, many Christians use situational ethics to justify sports events, shopping and other activities rather than honoring the Lord on the Sabbath. The sixth commandment tells us not to murder, but there is abortion on demand throughout the USA. The seventh commandment tells us not to commit adultery, but every day, Christians are living with one another and having sex outside of marriage and justifying through their situational ethics.
Biblical faith never compromises God’s sovereign laws because biblical faith is obedience (Heb. 11:8). Even Jesus chose to live this going to the cross (Luke 22:42). Sometimes when facing the heat, our response needs to be the same as Job’s in Job 13:15a, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (NASB). Biblical faith is not a vending machine and God is not a genie. To the king’s shock, he saw a fourth person in the fire with them (Dan. 3:24-25). Why did God choose to save them and not the 5 missionary men attempting to share the Gospel with the Auca Indian Tribe in the Amazon? Or heal your family member or friend of cancer?
Reflection Assignment: What is it about stories like this that you love as well as trouble you? Is it possible it is your situational ethics that is the problem and your view of God and faith? The devil loves to convince us that when bad things happen to us or people we love that God does not love us. When he does, you take him to Calvary and point at Jesus on the cross with His bleeding brow and pierced hands and feet and tell him, “That proves Jesus loves me!” What troubles you the most about the sovereignty of God and faith? Why? How do you plan to respond to this and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I do not want to be a person who lives by situational ethics. I want to be a person who lives by biblical faith no matter the outcome. I will not allow even my doubts to determine my response. Please reveal to me where situational ethics is in my life so that I can repent from it. Please keep me from compromise and the lies of the devil on this. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly