October 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

When we pray, "Your will be done," we pray for obedience on earth as it is practiced in heaven.

These three young men in the valley of Dura did the will of God. They knew God and his will. They knew God had the power to deliver them from the fire of the furnace. But they were not sure God would indeed rescue them from the flames. God might let them burn to death. "But even if he does not. .. we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

God knows our temptation to do what everyone does. If all the others fall to their knees when the music sounds, it requires much faith and courage to stand there alone, tall and strong. We all know teens who would rather die than be different from their peers. But even for grownups it takes a lot of courage to row against the stream. After all, we cannot be sure that we will be kept from suffering when we choose the path of obedience.

The three men in the valley of Dura said they would be obedient even if God did not deliver them from the fiery furnace.

Obedience comes first. We do not obey God because doing it means we are going to come out on top. First we obey. Then we trust in God for the rest.

A young Christian lived to tell about his experiences in a concentration camp. He had been helped by the presence of an older Christian man who had not lived to see freedom. One day he asked his older fellow prisoner: "Is the war going to last long?" The older man had said: "Nobody knows how long the war is going to last. To us, that's not an important question. The only important question is how we are going to live through it."

We don't know how long we are going to be on the battlefield. The only important issue is whether we dare to stand up in obedience when every knee bows to the image of gold.

REFLECTIONS

What risks are you willing to take for God?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.