then nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that shadrach, meshach, and abednego be brought. so they brought these men before the king. nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “is it true, o shadrach, meshach, and abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that i have set up? now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that i have made, well and good. but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. and who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” [daniel 3:13-15]
when the fire gets turned up – where do you run to be delivered?
when the crisis you are in gets intense and what’s at stake seems like the hopeless fracturing of relationships you deeply care about – where do you run to be delivered?
when the chaos of your family screams for your leadership – but your god of comfort screams louder for you to step back and avoid this chaos …. again, where do you go to be delivered?
when the anxiety of your heart continues to rise and rise because the reality of your life offers little peace at this moment – where do you go to be delivered?
“who is the god who will deliver you …” – is a day to day question we all face.
the real problem for many of us is that we don’t see, we don’t recognize that the who we run to is often – not Jesus.
“come to me all who are weary and carry heaven burdens, and i will give you rest.” [matt 11:28]
there is death in bowing to the gods of this world.
but, death does not come just in the gods or bowing to them. death comes in failing to bow to Jesus where life is.
the consequence of turning to other gods does not end at turning there and finding no real deliverance. the greatest consequence of turning to other gods for deliverance is we begin to believe we will never find real joy, real peace. and so, we begin to settle for moments of peace, moments that taste like joy.
why?
these other gods can “deliver” you from chaos for a moment … but they cannot give you real joy in your heart.
these other gods can “deliver” you from the anxiety for a moment … but they cannot give you real peace in your heart.
the real treasure is not the temporary removal of chaos or anxiety … but the real treasure is being with Jesus who is peace and joy!
what Jesus promises is rest, real peace and joy, … in him!
“come to me.” – Jesus
today o Lord,
help us come to you and you alone. our hearts our deceived and wooed by so many other “deliverers”. even now, give us the eyes and the strength to see that you alone can deliver, and you deliver in your presence. you are the treasure! help us come to you and you alone Lord! – even now …
~ john ryan