Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were brought before Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, because they refused to bow to his foreign gods. The three Hebrew men knew that Yahweh was the one true God, and they made the commitment to obey His decree and not bow to idols.

Even when faced with being thrown into the furnace, they said, “If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. … But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods” (Dan. 3:17-18, author’s emphasis).

What makes this statement so remarkable is that their refusal to bow down to the Babylonian gods was not dependent on whether or not God spared them from the furnace. They knew He was able to, but whether it was a part of His plan was not their concern. They simply set their minds to be obedient, no matter what.

Perhaps your obedience to God is contingent on what you think you deserve from Him. Do you feel like you’re in a good bargaining position when you believe God is holding out on you? If He gives me what I want, I’ll give Him what He wants.

But the obedience God requires of His children is not dependent on anything except His holiness, which never changes. God is certainly able to do anything for you, but even if He doesn’t, you must still walk in obedience to Him because He is holy.

Today, resolve to obey God, no matter what obstacles you’re facing.