“The smell of smoke was not on them.” Daniel 3:27 NKJV
“The minimum you can do is not good enough when the maximum is what you should do.”
My thoughts today are about “above and beyond.”
Some people are content to do the minimum they can get by with, such as when a child is asked to clean their room or a teen is required to make their bed. If people ever grew out of that, it wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, that seems to remain the norm rather than the exception for people of all ages and in many situations. The minimum you can do is just not good enough when the maximum is what you should do. Our God is a wonderful example of that principle, as should you be. Every moment is an opportunity to be your best for Him in thought, word, and deed.
I know I just wrote some thoughts and comments about this verse previously, “After Effects.” (Friday, 1-20-12) From responses, the idea seemed to have connected with readers. Here is another practical way this story speaks to me. Read Daniel 3:1-30 NKJV. This story is of three young men refusing to commit idolatry who are thrown into a deadly furnace by an angry king, then are unimaginably delivered harm-free. At first, it may seem to be a story about the Godly faith and courageous obedience of Daniel’s contemporaries and companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And from one perspective it is, but I suggest it is more about the character and greatness of the God upon whom their faith rested.
God is powerful whose thoughts and ways are above and beyond your own. See Isaiah 55:8-11 NLT. At least, God could have somehow intervened or prevented such a hurtful circumstance altogether. Instead, an angry man was allowed to do his worst to young men who were trying to do their best to be faithful to God and true to their personal convictions. Their punishment was merely a petulant king vindicating his arrogance, being arbitrary and going beyond anything just or fair. The punishment did not fit the perceived offense.
What did God choose to do? He chose to be with them where their obedience and faith placed them. He chose to deliver them in a manner that left no other explanation except that it was the work of an almighty God. God loves doing things like that on behalf of those who love and serve Him. God did not do the minimum to save their lives; God vindicated their righteousness.
God goes well above and far beyond everything expected; He always does. He will do the same for you. God made the inexplicable undeniable, the combustible incombustible, and the destructible indestructible! “These men upon whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of the fire was not on them.” Daniel 3:27 NKJV. They didn’t bow, they didn’t bend; they couldn’t burn. The fire could not burn them, nor even the smell of smoke attach itself to them or their clothing. God could have left them singed and smoky but He did not.
Whatever your circumstance, God will do the most He can do for you, never the least that is asked of Him. This verse is God’s self-description and my favorite understanding of Him: “(God) is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think, [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] . .” Ephesians 3:20 Amplified Bible. When Jesus sent out His disciples, He promised them, “I have given you authority . . to overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you.” Luke 10:20 TEV. You may be near to harm, but far from hurt.
My prayer for you today is that you ask and expect nothing less than God’s highest and best.