Even the unsaved will worship because of your example
Your example of worship, in all seasons, at at all times will change the world- one person at a time. And be assured- the world is watching. They are watching how you respond. They are watching how you handle things. They are watching how you carry yourself- in good times, but especially in the bad times. Everyone can have joy and sing and dance when life is good, but when life gets brutal, your ability to worship will define your faith for the whole world.
After Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego flat out refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, they were then thrown into the furnace to be burned alive. Talk about the sacrifice of praise! “They have defied the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God,” Nebuchadnezzar cried out. Their faith, and God’s subsequent, miraculous rescue caused Nebuchadnezzar, an arrogant, pagan king to acknowledge the One true God, and then, in the very next chapter, Daniel 4, the king writes: “I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.”
Everyone can have joy and sing and dance when life is good, but when life gets brutal, your ability to worship will define your faith for the whole world.
Did you catch that? That was a worship song! From the mouth of a heathen king! What a miraculous turnaround! In the pagan kingdom of Babylon, the example of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego inspired worship even in the mouths of the wicked. Why? Check this out: Because even just the simple retelling of what their faith had accomplished couldn’t be spoken without acknowledging God. The very words of the story were words of worship because they were living testimonies of God!
Thought for today
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego were worshippers of God- out loud, unashamed, unafraid of the consequences, loyal to Him and willing to suffer and die for their devotion to God. Are you willing to do the same? To risk being fired, or mocked, or demoted, or rejected, or humiliated or thrown to the lions in your life? What will your worship cost you? What would the world do if you worshipped right in front of them, even in the midst of your fear, pain, anguish, troubles, worries or hard times? For that matter, what would God do for you?! “I will honor those who honor Me,” God said in 1 Samuel 2:30. Worship is a lifestyle. When the world sees that worship is who you are, they may not react well, and it may hurt you for a season, but in the end, even the world will worship God because of you, and God will have the victory- because you worshipped!
