Dear Amy,

At the time of crisis, how can we be completely confident in the Lord’s protection and provision?

As I write this, I am facing a situation at work which will surely result in me losing my job, as a direct result of living with integrity and honouring the Lord. And yet, I have such a peace about it. The Lord’s fingerprints are all over it. I will leave and everything will be fine⸺more than fine in fact. This seems to me to be a key step in the Lord outworking his Kingdom plans and purposes in my life. Praise him!

And so I write this to you out of my own acute and current experience, aware and indeed hoping and praying that you do not find yourself in a similar place anytime soon! Nevertheless, it is all I have for you this week as my gift of love. May it bless your own heart regardless. ❤️

Consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They lived with integrity, honouring the Lord, and as a result were told, worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image or be immediately cast into the fiery furnace. What was their response?

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

How could they be so confident before the most powerful man in the land, who held their very lives in his hands. Didn’t he? Even recognising that they may not survive the flames, they were resolute and unassailable. To understand this we have to go back a bit in the story.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank.

Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah [aka Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego], “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

― Daniel 1:8a, 11-13, 16

These four boys, strangers in a strange land, were completely sold out for the Lord, living their lives in full obedience, serving and honouring him. Living on vegetables and water was just one aspect of that. Not tasty! And the Lord blessed and prospered them in their obedience.

You know the rest. Jesus himself stood alongside the three boys in the flames. They emerged completely unharmed, not even a little singed. And as a result, Nebuchadnezzar worshipped the Lord.

So here is the key. Live such a life of integrity, honouring the Lord, giving up pleasures and privileges to serve him better, just as in fact you are doing, Amy, in the village⸺well done, you good and faithful servant! And at the time of crisis, be absolutely confident that not only will the Lord himself stand alongside you, honouring you, but he will use it to outwork his Kingdom plans and purposes. Praise the Lord, our most wonderful Saviour!

Be completely confident, Amy, at the time of crisis. You are the Lord’s, and he honours his faithful servants! 🙏🙌