Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

As I have lived a few years in my life, I have had some challenges and struggles, no doubt. I have also had times of incredible happiness and success! These are the ebbs and flows of a life lived in a world that God created for us that became sinful.

At times I can wonder, “When will this challenge end, or when will this trial be finished.” Then I hear about the trials of others, who are suffering in big ways. Some have children with aggressive cancer, others are persecuted for their faith, and still others are dealing with multiple hardships at the same time. I was recently thinking of the families and people living in war-torn areas of Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza. I can’t even imagine the hardships they face daily.

So what separates people in hard times? What separates the courageous from the cowardly?

I think it is simply a steady and constant faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. This cannot typically be built quickly, because God requires us to open up to him and let him do spiritual surgery on our hearts. Some would try to claim expert status in the church after only a recent strong connection with God, but this is foolish. God requires humility first. Our worldly wisdom and knowledge is not really that useful to God without a humble heart willing to listen and learn.

So when God searches for the faithful, he looks to people like Noah, who preached and built an ark for decades and decades in obedience. He looks for people like Moses who risked everything to follow God and served faithfully in the face of obstacles all the time, it seemed. And he looks to men like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their faith was built over time, being tested and found true when first captured by the Babylonians. They stood up to the request to eat unclean food, in a nice way, and were able to eat just vegetables and succeed.

Now they stand up to the king and his 100-foot statue of himself that he wanted them to worship. He wanted them to treat him as a god. But instead of doing this, they chose the fire. And the fire did not harm them because one that looked like a son of man (I believe Jesus) stood with them. “He [King Nebuchadnezzar] said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’” (‭‭Daniel‬ ‭3‬:‭25‬)

We need to build spiritual courage. We need more men and women who are battle-tested and rely on the power and might of God when things get hard. How is this done? It is built in the trenches of ministry — by serving.

There will always be some who prefer the sidelines and like to give “guidance” to those on the battlefield. But they are deceived as this is not what God has called us to. We must serve, sacrifice ourselves, and love when it hurts to love. Then, as we obey God’s voice and call and stand for him, we will build courage. COURAGE that IS strong is PRE-PLANNED and PRACTICED.

Thank you, Lord, for the example of these faithful men. What an amazing stand against all odds. Yet you stood with them and you stand with me as I am faithful today as well. Thank you. Build up more courage in me to stand, I pray!