There’s Always Hope: Part 5 — 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 morning,

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We’ve been talking each day this week about this theme that there is always hope when you walk with God. You may be facing a desperate, seemingly impossible situation in your life. You may be so stressed out, discouraged, even depressed, because you cannot see any way through it or out of it.

There is always hope when you walk with God, and I want today at the end of this week to give you three steps for building hope in your life, because you might say, look, I know all those truths. I know all the stuff about God, but I can’t generate that hope.

Three ways to build hope as you face an impossible situation like that faced by the 3 men we’ve been looking at in the story from the Old Testament this week. The first step is to remember God’s involvement in your life when you have put Him first and trusted Him. Remember God’s involvement in your life when you have put Him first and trusted Him.

As you look in this story, these three guys could look back. Where in Daniel chapter 3, when they’re facing this desperate situation, they could look back to chapter 1 when they were first taken into exile from Israel and into the Babylonian Empire and set aside to serve the king of Babylon.

And put with a whole group of people from other nations and being required to eat the food that the king provided for them, which included foods that were unclean for Jews to eat.

And they made the decision. We’re going to honor God. We’re not going to eat that meat. God gave them favor in the eyes of the man who was put in charge of them and then gave them even more health than the other people when they didn’t eat the king’s food.

You need to build a life of faith. If you’re not in a desperate situation right now, this is why it’s so important to walk with God, to say yes to Him, to put Him first in your life, to trust Him, because you see Him then getting involved in your life, and when you face those desperate situations, you have something to look back on.

Something that gives you encouragement every time I’ve trusted God and put Him first in my life. I’ve been so glad I did, and here’s what God has done.

As I look back on my life, I can see circumstance after circumstance where I was under pressure, and I put God first and I saw God come through. I felt hopeless and helpless, really desperate in situations in my life, and God has brought me through into a good place in my life. And so when I face hard times now. I can look at that and remember our family can talk about those times. My team can talk with me about those times when in our ministry God has walked with us through hard times, and it gives us confidence. It gives us hope when we face difficult times. Now that’s what these guys did.

The second thing you can do to build hope is turn to the one who has suffered. And will walk with you through the hard times. These guys are thrown into the fiery furnace. It’s a desperate situation. King Nebuchadnezzar jumps out of his seat as he looks into the furnace.

And he declared to his counselors, Didn’t we cast 3 men bound into the fire? They answered and said, True, O king. He answered and said, But I see 4 men unbound walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the appearance of the 4th is like a son of the gods.

Well, who is there in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? It’s Jesus Christ walking in the fire with them. Don’t push God away when things get hard. Draw Him close.

The third is this: focus less on what you want God to do for you and more on what God wants to do through you in this desperate situation. When things get hard, sometimes all we can think about is ourselves.

Something really deep happens and changes in your heart though when you begin to ask what is it that God wants to do through me in this desperate situation? How does He want to use me in the lives of the people around me in this desperate situation.

That brings hope and a sense of purpose into your hard times.

I’m John North.