You are always with God
Some stories are fun to hear over and over again. Here's one of my favorites. It reminds me that God is always taking care of us, no matter where we are or what is going on.
A king named Nebuchadnezzer had a huge image, or statue, made and set up. He had it all covered with gold. The king wanted everyone to worship this image.
So he had a herald (a messenger) call out to everyone, saying that when they heard the musical instruments playing, they should fall down and worship the golden image. There was a threat, too. If you didn't worship the image, you would be thrown into a burning, fiery furnace!
Everyone worshiped the golden statue - except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Instead, they worshiped the one God, who is Spirit. The king became very angry when he heard about this, and he had those three men brought to him for questioning. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told the king that they worshiped only the one God. They said they were sure God would save them from the king's punishment. But they also said that even if God didn't save them, they were going to keep worshiping the one God, and not a golden image. That's the part about being loyal and obedient to God.
The king was so angry that he asked his men to heat that fiery furnace seven times hotter than usual. Then they tied up the men and threw them into the hot fire.
Later, when the king looked into the furnace, he was amazed to see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking around in the middle of the fire. They weren't tied up anymore. And right there with them in the fire he saw an angel of God. That's the part about God always being with us and taking care of us, no matter what.
The king called to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out of the furnace. He saw that they were not even burned! Their clothes weren't burned. In fact, their clothes didn't even smell of smoke.
King Nebuchadnezzer knew then that the one God had saved the three men, and he made a law that anyone who tried to prohibit worshiping the one God would be severely punished.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Bible story knew that God is good, and that He will always love and take care of us. And so they weren't afraid to trust Him. The book of Daniel is saying that we can trust God to take care of us, too.
We might not get thrown into a fiery furnace, but there are tough things we have to face. Maybe it's a big bully at school. Maybe we're afraid in the dark. Or maybe it's something else that seems big and scary. The Bible is saying we can trust God no matter what.
Of course, when something or someone is bothering you, it's always good to tell a parent, teacher, or another adult what's wrong, and you can trust God together.
We are never alone. There's no place we can go and not be with God. There's nothing we can ever do and not be with God. God is always right here with us.
God tells us how much He loves us and that He is always taking care of us. God shows us what we can say or do, or where we can go. He tells us how to be safe.
