There’s Always Hope: Part 2 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”…

Daniel 3

Transcript

Good Tuesday morning,

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All this week at this time of day we’re pausing to open God’s Word the Bible and just spend some time with God and hear what He has to say to us. On the theme, there is always hope when you walk with God.

Yesterday we read a passage from the Old Testament with this great story about King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the whole Babylonian Empire, who gathered all of the officials and government leaders from across the empire to celebrate him setting up this 27-28m high golden image, and he said, when I play the music, everyone has to fall down and worship it. If you don’t, you’re going to be thrown into a burning fiery furnace.

And some people pointed out these three Jews who were totally ignoring that and not worshiping, and Nebuchadnezzar became furious and brought them before him and said, All right, I’m going to give you one more chance. We’re playing the music. Worship my image, and if you don’t, you’re going to be cast into this fiery furnace. And then he asked the question, who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?

Well, we made the point that when God is involved, there is always hope. I wonder what situation you’re facing in your life right now that is desperate, hopeless. It may be a financial situation. It may be a relational situation of conflict in your home. I don’t know what you’re facing, but it’s tying your stomach in knots, and you see no way out.

There is always hope when God is involved. Here was the question that King Nebuchadnezzar asked of these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He said, Who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?

He was their answer. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King.

Here’s the first foundation for having hope in a hopeless situation – know who God is.

The question comes, who is the God who will deliver you out of my hand? And they say, look, we don’t even need to answer you because we’ve made our decision, but here’s our answer. Our God whom we serve is able. He’s able to deliver us. He is able.

You think about who God is, the Creator of this entire universe. He created this universe out of his own personal power. When He finished creating it, He rested on the Sabbath day, but that wasn’t because He was tired, it was just because He was finished.

God has all the power that created the universe, and even that was only a tiny fraction of His power. No situation is beyond hope. There is always hope. You think of after God created this world and put mankind in it, how He told us we could eat of any fruit in the garden except the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden.

And yet that’s exactly the tree that that first man and woman ate from, and they became fallen in their nature and broken, unable to have a good relationship with God. Our lives didn’t work properly any more. It seemed hopeless. God’s plan for the universe was broken.

But God was involved, and He would send Jesus into our world to make a way for us to be restored from our brokenness.

You think of Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den for honoring God and how hopeless that seemed. And yet in the morning there he was. God had taken care of him. Here are these three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, facing the fiery furnace. It seems like a hopeless situation, but God is able.

You think of Gideon and this huge Midianite army of over 100,000 people, and he raises an army of 30,000 to defend Israel. And God says that’s too many, and God pares it down until there’s only 300 left and says, Now I’m going to show you who I am, no matter what situation you’re facing in your life right now. If you walk with God, He is able, and this is a foundation of our hope.

I’m John North.