“Keep Standing” – Insight from the 3 Hebrew Boys

A portion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermon “A Knock at Midnight” came to mind as I considered God’s intent for this email. One night during the Civil Right Movement, he received a threatening phone call. The voice on the other end of the call promised to kill him and his family if he didn’t stop organizing and fueling this movement. Needless to say, Dr. King was scared. His desire to see all people treated fairly had brought him face to face with death.

What do you do when your beliefs bring you to a place of controversy? What happens when you’ve heard God speak, believe what He said, but following His voice brings you face-to-face with crisis? This a place all too familiar for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, affectionately known as the three Hebrew boys. They believed in the true and living God and refused to worship anything else. Their commitment to God brought them face-to-face with an angry king and a fiery furnace. But even though their lives were in jeopardy, they kept standing. They believed it was better to get right or die trying.

This email is encouragement to someone who is in the same predicament. Because of your commitment to God, you’ve landed in a tough place. Keep standing. You may experience some pain, but don’t fret. God is by your side, and He’ll keep you even when trouble is positioned to overtake you. He kept Dr. King, the three Hebrew boys, and He’ll certainly keep you!