Photo courtesy of Jens Mayer.

We hope you enjoy this re-post from May 20, 2014. Be blessed! The Today’s Quote From God Team

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. – Daniel 3:16-18, KJV

If your government told you to renounce Christ or die, what would you do? For Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, the choice is clear: choose death.

According to CNN.com (May 16, 2014):

Hours after a Sudanese court sentenced his pregnant wife to death when she refused to recant her Christian faith, her husband told CNN he feels helpless.

“I’m so frustrated. I don’t know what to do,” Daniel Wani told CNN on Thursday. “I’m just praying.”

This week a Khartoum court convicted his wife, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, 27, of apostasy, or the renunciation of faith.

Ibrahim is Christian, her husband said. But the court considers her to be Muslim.

The court also convicted her of adultery and sentenced her to 100 lashes because her marriage to a Christian man is considered void under Sharia law.

The court gave her until Thursday to recant her Christian faith — something she refused to do, according to her lawyer.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, a sheikh told the court “how dangerous a crime like this is to Islam and the Islamic community,” said attorney Mohamed Jar Elnabi, who’s representing Ibrahim.

“I am a Christian,” Ibrahim fired back, “and I will remain a Christian.”

Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego so many centuries ago, brave Ibrahim has not been careful to answer her accusers. Instead, she has stood firm for Christ, even at the risk of her life, the life of her unborn child, the life of her 20-month-old son (in prison with her), and the life of her wheelchair-bound husband, who relies upon her for his care.

How does one find such bravery in times of such trial? The answer is found in understanding that this life is nothing compared to the eternal life we will enjoy in Heaven. Although we may enjoy the people and the comforts of this life, we should never let our love for such to overshadow the love we should have for our Savior. Christ gave His all on the cross that we might be saved from Hell and unto everlasting joy in God’s presence. In return, we ought to give our all, if need be, to save our Christ and our fellow believers from the disappointment and the discouragement that our disloyalty would bring them.

We are soldiers in a war fought by principalities and powers, and in times of war there are casualties. We should pray diligently that God would miraculously deliver Ibrahim from her captors, but should He choose not to do so, we should honor Ibrahim for her loyalty, first by praying for her family, and secondly by following her example, should the need arise for us to do so.

(Update: Ibrahim was released later in 2014. Praise The Lord!)