𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Have you ever been in a situation where you were not sure if you should follow the instructions given to you? What happened?
• Share about a time when you were asked to share about something very personal to you. How did you respond?
• Have you ever been punished for doing something you
felt was right? What happened?


𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘖 𝘕𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘻𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟯:𝟭𝟲–𝟭𝟴

(Read also 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟯:𝟭–𝟭𝟱, 𝟭𝟵–𝟯𝟬.)

When Nebuchadnezzar set up a large golden image in Babylon and decreed that everyone should bow down to it when certain music was played, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel's friends) privately refused to obey the king’s order. Idolatry is a violation of the second commandment, so the three Hebrew men refused to participate—even if it meant death for them. Curiously, they didn’t tell anyone of their resolve not to worship the idol. The king only knew about it because certain Chaldeans brought the matter to the king. Here are three lessons from Daniel’s friends about taking a stand when the odds are against us that we can apply in our own lives and communities.

𝟭. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗹𝘆.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘯: 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟯:𝟭𝟮–𝟭𝟯

King Nebuchadnezzar’s decree to worship the golden statue spared no one, including Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego. But this did not deter them from their faith in God and their resolve to worship Him only. While they held their own convictions privately, the Chaldeans intended to gain the king’s favor and harm the three of them. Only when the three men were asked by the king did they declare their decision to honor and obey God. Recall a time when someone challenged your beliefs. How did you respond?

𝟮. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 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?” 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘖 𝘕𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘻𝘻𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟯:𝟭𝟰–𝟭𝟲

When Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were told to obey the king over God, they refused. While they maintained a respectful demeanor when answering the king, they stood by their belief that God is the only one worthy of worship. They also did not return any ill intention or publicly challenge the Chaldeans who got them in trouble. They knew that the king was not the one they needed to obey or trust, even if it could mean certain death in the fiery furnace. When others don’t agree with our beliefs, we ought to maintain our convictions to obey God while conducting ourselves in a manner that represents and honors Him. What does Ephesians 6:10–20 say about how we are to be strong in and for God?

𝟯. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
“𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘖 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱.” 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗟 𝟯:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟴

The answer of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego to King Nebuchadnezzar reflected their confidence in God. They would trust God who can deliver them, and they would trust Him even if He did not. Either way, they would not bow down to the golden statue. God came through for them. He did not only deliver the three men out of the furnace, but was with them in person. The king himself saw a fourth person who appeared as a son of the gods. When he ordered them to come out of the furnace, everyone saw that they were not harmed at all. This caused the king to praise God and issue a new decree that no one was to speak against God. Even when the odds are stocked up against us, God stands at the center of our situations and makes Himself known to those around us. Recall a time when God delivered you from a seemingly impossible situation. How did it change the way you perceive the challenges you face today?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• How does our society view private convictions and public platforms? What can we learn from the convictions and response of Daniel’s friends?
• Why is it important to maintain respect and honor even when disagreeing with others? How can this affect the goal of them turning to God?
• Are you going through a situation where your convictions are being tested and you need God’s deliverance? Like Daniel’s friends, who can you stand with and how can you maintain your conviction to honor God?


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for being with you when your faith is challenged and when the odds are against you. Pray that He will deliver you and even when He does not, your faith will remain strong in Him.
• Pray for wisdom and self-control when you take a stand for your faith. Pray that the people you encounter will see God's presence and hand in your life.
• Pray that you would stand with friends who will help you trust God even in the worst of times. Pray that you would experience God's deliverance together.