Did you know that sometimes faith in God gets you in trouble? It does! Here’s a few Biblical examples of what I’m talking about.
• Daniel 6 tells us of how Daniel’s faith in the One True God caused him to defy the kings command not to pray to his God. Daniel prayed, and he ended up in the lion’s den. But, the lions didn’t lay a paw on him!
• Daniel 3 tells us of Shadrack, Meshack, Abednego. Because of their faith in God, these three guys refused to bow down to the statue of the king, and they ended up in the fiery furnace. But they came out just fine, not even the smell of smoke.
• Matthew 4 tells how John the Baptist refused to keep quiet about Herod’s sin. His faith in God caused him to point out the king’s sin. It cost him his head! Of course, that just sent him straight to glory!
• Acts 7 tells how Stephen wouldn’t quit preaching Jesus Christ. Remember what happened to him? He was stoned to death, and again, that just caused him to go straight on to glory!
• And how ‘bout ole Paul? By faith he wouldn’t quit preaching Jesus, and what happened to him? Church tradition says that he was beheaded with a silver sword. I’m not sure what difference it makes that it was a silver sword – he still lost his head! But, again, that just sent him straight on to glory!
I see a trend here. Each of these heroes of the faith ended up in trouble because of their faith. But, each of them would rather die than deny their faith. I believe that they were confident that God would be with them in their trouble.
We can be just as confident today! Our trouble might not be a lion’s den, or a fiery furnace, or being stoned or beheaded. Our faith may only cause us to be ridiculed or made fun of. But even in that, God is right there with us. I’m convinced that God is especially with us when our faith brings about conflict.
Are you certain of His presence today? I hope so.
