3RD WEEK OF LENT

Let our sacrifice be in your presence today. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (also called Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael) were “in the fire,” but in a sense, so were all the exiles who were living in Babylon at the time (Daniel 3:25). Far from home, the Israelites couldn’t worship God by offering their sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem. Even worse, now they were being forced to worship the king’s golden statue. The three men refused, so they were thrown into a white-hot furnace—so hot that it even burned the king’s men who had cast them into it (3:22)!

Only God could save them, and so Azariah turned to him in prayer. Acknowledging the sins of his people, he told God that he had “no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense” to offer him. Instead, he offered himself: “Let our sacrifice be in your presence today” (Daniel 3:40). In the fire, it was only a “contrite heart and humble spirit” that these men could give to the Lord (3:39).

We’ve all been “in the fire” at one time or another—difficult times that make us realize we don’t have the strength, energy, or power to help ourselves, never mind offer anything to the Lord. We may struggle to worship him the way we did in better times. We can only come to God, as these men did, and offer him a contrite heart and a humble spirt. That means admitting our weaknesses and limitations and looking only to God to rescue us.

The good news is, this is exactly what the Lord wants from us! Of course, he is pleased with our good deeds and our prayers. But he also knows that when we are at the end of our rope, we are able to see ourselves as we truly are: totally dependent on him. And amazingly, when we throw ourselves on God’s mercy and stop trying to change our situations on our own, he shows us just how powerfully he can work in our lives.

Whether or not you’re in a white-hot furnace today, offer yourself to the Lord with a contrite heart and a humble spirit. Do this every day, and trust him to do his work in you.

“Lord, I give myself to you, today and always.”

Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Psalm 25:4-9
Matthew 18:21-35