Don’t compromise your values
By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo
Daniel 3:16-18 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, “Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.”- GNB
These are statements of unshakeable faith! In moments of extreme pressure from fierce trials, some are tempted to adjust or renounce their stand in God to survive. To the three Hebrew men, the threat of fire couldn’t shake their resolve to stand for God. They were ready for the fire and death, but not worship an idol! We are called to make our stand for God clear and to leave the consequences to Him. He can save us. But sometimes the fire will burn for real, and the raging storms will strike hard. Only don’t yield to their pressure to fail God.
The rampant worldliness among professing Christians, meddling with sin and ungodly values, shows compromised stand. Instead of resisting evil, we excuse it, court it and flow with it. Our light becomes darkness and our salt loses its saltiness. In the end, no one can tell that we belong to God. We become like the rest of the world! Relieving stress as a believer through compromise with sin, is a temporary solution with worse after effects.
When we learn to entrust our lives and future to God, we shall be at rest from stress whatever comes our way. We shall stick to what, and Whom we have believed. Our minds are made up. That’s all that matters. Shun temporary survival and pleasures enjoyed in disobedience to God for a greater eternal reward. Daniel, his three friends, Moses and other heroes of faith did it. It is possible to stand amidst all the pressures of life. If you have fallen victim, return to the Father in repentance. He forgives and restores.
Hebrews 11:24 -26 "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward."
Shalom children of God.