Journal Entry ~ 02/17/18

17 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.
18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." - Daniel 3:17-18

When these three men were brought before the king for defying his order and refusing to bow down and worship the created image, their response was:  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. - Daniel 3:16. There is such a wisdom in that response for me. We don’t always need to answer when the darkness tempts us. 

There are times when I engage the darkness in battle and find myself walking right into temptation. Sometimes darkness knocks on my door, and rather than letting it pass, I will engage in an effort to prove I’m right. Maybe I’m being falsely accused, maybe my faith is attacked, maybe my intention is misunderstood or my concern is misinterpreted, but the accusations will happen and my blood will boil. I end up responding harshly in defense of my point of view, and suddenly find myself opening the door to sin. Sometimes, without even realizing how I got myself there, I will find myself wrapped up with the darkness in a wrestling match of sin trying to prove I’m right. 

We don’t always need to engage. We don’t need to prove our point, or convince the other person we’re right. There are times when our efforts to bring light to the darkness are futile, and as I’ve grown in wisdom over the years, God has been revealing to me when I should not answer. Every battle is not ours to have - we would be wise to discern the difference between those battles God would want us to engage in and those we simply don’t need to respond. We don’t have to answer every time we’re accused, or our faith is attacked, or we’re misunderstood. God knows the truth, and that’s all that matters. I’ve been through enough trials with Him to know the truth always prevails. Sometimes it takes a long time, but the truth always wins. 

Let it go and let God work it out. If Rack, Shack, and Benny didn’t feel the need to respond to the king for his false accusations while staring into the fiery furnace, we would be wise to discern when it would be best to stand down in a battle that might draw us into sin ourselves. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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