Where do you go…what do you do when the crisis happens? All public buildings have a fire alarm system. They do two things: alert everyone in the building of the emergency and contact the local fire station of the fire emergency. The fire alarm activates the planned response.

In school we had fire drills to practice & evaluate how well we responded to the fire emergency plan. Fire departments plan, train & practice continuously to improve their response & effectiveness. The last thing anyone wants is for a fire truck to roll up at the fire with unprepared, untrained & ill-equipped firemen.

How about you? Are you prepared, trained, and equipped for the emergencies of the day? Every town has a fire department because fires happen. So do problems & crisis in our lives. So, why are we surprised? Why do we go into panic mode and become paralyzed with fear? Question, when was the last time you saw firemen standing at a fire indecisive and wringing their hands not knowing what to do?

As a Christian how do you respond to your fire? The world is watching.

In Daniel chapters 1-6, God gives us an example of how we should respond. It’s the story of 4 teenage boys that have lost everything and are taken to Babylon against their will. They were taken to Babylon, a pervasive evil place with an evil leader, to serve the king.

There are two examples that are so counter to today’s culture. The first was when the 3 boys (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were ordered to bow & worship a 90-foot gold statue or be thrown into the fire furnace. The boys responded to the king with respect & confidence. “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

Then when Daniel was faced with praying to the man-made gods or God Almighty it was not a dilemma. Even though he knew praying to Almighty God would result in being thrown into the lion’s den, he responded well. In Daniel 6:10 we discover how he confidently chose to be “Steadfast.” Ponder, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” For Daniel and his 3 friends, they didn’t wait until they smelled smoke or saw a flame. They had developed a personal-trust relationship with the only One in Control, Almighty God.

Like well trained, prepared & equipped fireman at the fire, all 4 of these young men were ready. They made the decision to respond long before the fire. They prepared & trained for the “what if’s”! Because, for the boys and for us, there is only one answer, Trusting Him! BAM!

Have you decided what & how you will respond when the next emergency happens? Will you be prepared and be able to respond with the confidence of these 4 young men?

The four young men exhibited “No-Matter-What” trust in God. Just as Jesus did in the Garden. It is “the Peace & Confidence” that surpasses all understanding. Let their final words, before they thrown into the fiery furnace, whisper to your heart, “But even if He does not…”