{"id":440,"date":"2023-04-05T19:57:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T19:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/2023\/04\/04\/what-can-we-expect-from-god-today\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T20:15:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T20:15:22","slug":"what-can-we-expect-from-god-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/what-can-we-expect-from-god-today\/","title":{"rendered":"What can we expect from God today?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I renounce them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I renounce them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I renounce them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christians have been making this proclamation at baptisms since at least the second century.<\/a> In the Old Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we see three Jewish heroes living it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These three men were Israelite nobility who were, along with many, many others, exiled to Babylon after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Holy Temple<\/a>. King Nebuchadnezzar (yes, the same foreign king who had ordered the destruction of their home) commanded them to serve in his palace. But first, they would have to spend three years learning the language and sacred stories of Babylon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shadrach was born with the Hebrew name Hananiah, which means \u201cGod is gracious.\u201d But as he began his forced education, the palace master renamed him Shadrach, which likely means<\/a> \u201cCommand of Aku\u201d (Babylon\u2019s moon god).  Mishael (\u201cWho is what God is?\u201d) was given the name Meshach (\u201cWho is as Aku is?\u201d), and Azariah (\u201cGod has helped\u201d) became Abednego (\u201cslave of Nebo\/Nabu\/Nergal\u201d \u2013 all Babylonian gods). (See Daniel 1:1\u20137<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I only need to get that far into their story before it starts to remind me of so many other tragic situations: <\/strong>the powerful scene from Roots<\/em> where Kunta Kinte is beaten until he finally says that his name is Toby \u2013 representing the real-life experience of so many African slaves. Indigenous people in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and other countries being taken from their families with the purpose of being stripped of their culture and reeducated. And unfortunately I can add: et cetera<\/em>, et cetera<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like these other oppressed people, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were under the control of a foreign power which every day worked to break their ties to their own culture, which every day tempted and even forced them to abandon their God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three men eventually receive a pretty substantial promotion (thanks to a little help from their friend, Daniel), but before they can start to feel comfortable, Nebuchadnezzar makes an announcement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound\u2026, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.<\/em> (Daniel 3:4-6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our three heroes would have heard: \u201cBreak the first and second commandments that God gave to your people, or die.\u201d Or even more simply: \u201cBetray your God, or die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone points out to the king: \u201cHey, those Jews aren\u2019t bowing down! You just gave them  a promotion, and they aren\u2019t even listening to you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nebuchadnezzar is furious; he has the three men brought to him and demands that they bow down. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego respond:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. <\/em> <\/sup><\/em>But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.\u2019<\/em> (Daniel 3:16-18)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazing commitment to faith #1: <\/strong>They proclaim their belief that their God has the power to save them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazing commitment to faith #2: <\/strong>They don\u2019t bank on God saving them. Whatever God decides to do, they are staying faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you know the rest of their story. The king orders the furnace to be stoked to such a heat that the guards forcing the three men into the flames are burned up on the spot. Yet as the king and the crowd peer into the flames after the men, they see not three, but four figures there in the fire. And none of them are burning up. In fact, when the king calls them out of the fire, their clothes aren\u2019t even singed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So King Nebuchadnezzar makes a proclamation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king\u2019s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. <\/em> <\/sup><\/em>Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.\u2019<\/em> (Daniel 3:28-29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego renounced the false god \u2013 and in the end, the king gives public praise to the God of Israel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One reason we tell and retell Bible stories like this one is to remember the heroes of our faith, maintain a connection to our ancestors, and be inspired and empowered. But the even greater reason to learn these stories is because they teach us something about who God is \u2013 <\/strong>what we can expect God to be like in our own time, in our own lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this is how God acted on behalf of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego \u2014 if this is how God acted also for Daniel in the lion\u2019s den, for Esther in the throne room of her king, for the Israelites in slavery\u2026 If this is who God is, what can we expect from God today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lest our feet stray from the places, O God, where we met thee;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

True to our God, true to our native land.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLift Every Voice and Sing,\u201d by James W. Johnson (1900)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pr. Kate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rev. Katherine Museus <\/a>serves as university pastor at the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University and takes turns writing weekly devotions with University Pastor James A. Wetzstein.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? I renounce them. Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?  I renounce them. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-katherine-museus","category-csl-newsletter-devotionals"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"dev@eridesign.com","author_link":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/author\/deveridesign-com\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/04\/Who-God-is-300x169.webp","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Katherine Museus<\/a>","CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Katherine Museus<\/span>","CSL Newsletter Devotionals<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 4 years ago","modified":"Updated 1 year ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 5, 2023","modified":"Updated on August 18, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 5, 2023 7:57 pm","modified":"Updated on August 18, 2025 8:15 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":860,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions\/860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpo.edu\/devotionals\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}