THE BENEFITS OF OBEYING GOD

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 1:1-3:30) were young Jewish men who served with their comrade, Daniel, in the palace of king Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. They were exceptionally gifted, strikingly good looking and God fearing and owing to their sterling qualities, they got rapid promotion to the highest echelon of governance in Babylon.

At a time, the king made an image of gold and ordered everyone to fall down and worship it at the sound of certain musical instruments. He also ordered that whoever disobeyed his instruction, should be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. But contrary to his expectation, the young men disobeyed him, instead they obeyed God’s commandment which says: ”You shall not make for yourself a carved image …; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them…” (Exodus 20:4-5). And for this reason, they were bound and thrown into the burning furnace but God saved them. This is a very popular account and it contains some model benefits that come with obeying God. Let us now examine them in turn.

1. Divine Protection

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship the gold image made by king Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, they obeyed God’s law that forbids worshipping other gods (Exodus 20:4-5). For this reason, they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace but four men, the fourth being like the Son of God, all unbound and unscathed, were later spotted in it. That is, Jesus Christ was on hand to protect them thus verifying what Isaiah 43:2 says viz.: ”…When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you”. As you walk through the ‘fires’ of life day by day, choose to obey God and He’ll protect you divinely in Jesus name. Amen.

2. Divine Promotion

For disobeying king Nebuchadnezzar and obeying God’s law that forbids the worship of other Gods, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego got summary promotion in the province of Babylon. Please note that their promotion was essentially not man made; it was divinely engineered as confirmed by the Psalmist in Psalm 75:6-7 where he said: ”… promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another”. So, if you desire promotion in any area of your life today please, seek God’s opinion about it and obey Him strictly too and you’ll have it in Jesus name. Amen.

3. Divine Blessings

The determination of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to disobey king Nebuchadnezzar and their willingness to obey God, as well as their resultant promotion, must have exposed them to breath-taking blessings in Babylon. This confirms as true, Isaiah 1:19, which says: ”If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;”. Friend, if you are willing and obedient as from now on, you too shall eat the good of your land in Jesus name. Amen.

4. Heavenly Rewards

The decision of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey God, made the entire citizenry of Babylon to experience His immense power first-hand and I believe a lot of people must have yielded their lives to Him unconditionally as a result. In that case, there must have been great rejoicing in heaven that day and the three young men must have been suitably rewarded thereafter (Luke 15:10, Galatians 6:7-8). In the same vein, if you win souls for God, which is always a wise thing to do (Proverbs 11:30), you too will be suitably rewarded in heaven in Jesus name. Amen.

As you can see from above, it is advantageous to obey God at all times so; I encourage you to do more in this regard henceforth so that you can partake in the resultant massive benefits. If God asks you to serve Him more, please obey Him, if He asks you to change your job, obey Him; if He wants you to start a specific business, obey Him; if He asks you to propose to a particular sister or to accept a marriage proposal from a brother; Obey Him; if He asks you to study a particular course or to learn a particular trade, obey Him; if He asks you to change your location so that you situation can change, please obey Him; etc. and in the end, you’ll have every reason to rejoice in Jesus name. Amen.

Jesus is Lord!

C Adedayo Stoney Adegbulu, 2010