Day Fifty-Five

SAY NO

But even if he does not [rescue us], we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

—DANIEL 3:18 NIV

You may have heard me talk about this before, but I am deeply moved by the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. These young Israelite men were captured as slaves when they were just teenagers and taken to Babylon with Daniel.

In Daniel 1, we see them say no to meats and rich foods for ten days, and at the end of it, they are honored for their strength, especially in the face of eating much less than the other soldiers in training.

Years later, those young men were administrators over all of Babylon, and Daniel was serving at the royal court. King Nebuchadnezzar built a massive gold statue—ninety feet high, nine feet wide. And then he decided that everyone in town had to bow to the statue and worship it whenever the music played, and anyone who didn’t would be thrown into a blazing furnace.

Our guys worshipped the one true God and had no interest in bowing to anything else. They said no when the rest of the people said yes.

Can you imagine that courage? To stand when everyone else bows? Knowing the result, knowing who you are and how much you are respected, yet choosing to go against your boss, namely, the king, in a life-threatening way?

Look at today’s verse. “Even if he does not . . .” Even if God doesn’t rescue us from this, we still say no.

I hope I always have the courage to say, “I know what God can do, but even if He doesn’t, I still won’t worship idols. I will still worship the one true God.”

I know God can heal my friend’s illness, but even if He doesn’t . . .

I know God can fix relationships, but even if He doesn’t . . .

I know God can provide a spouse, but even if He doesn’t . . .

I know God can provide for me financially, but even if He doesn’t . . .

A lot of courageous noes make for some beautifully brave yeses.

Right? Even. If. He. Doesn’t.

These three said it, knowing their lives were on the line, and they never looked back.

They were brave. They said no. And even when the voices of fear must have been whispering to them, they didn’t listen. They stood there in their no and believed that God is still God.

A lot of courageous noes make for some beautifully brave yeses.

And I’m not sure you are going to get it right every time—saying the right yeses and the right noes. I don’t get it right all the time. But courage doesn’t equal right; courage equals stepping out and trying.

Be brave and say yes. But also be brave and say no. Jump on the float. Walk into the furnace. Stand up. Sit down. Get on that flight. Say the thing that courage asks you to say, even if it’s the word no.

BE BRAVE: What’s one thing you can say no to today that will make space for some better yeses in the future?