August 30th, 2026

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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes (Sunday ~ August 30 2026)
Sermon Title –God Working Through Our Circumstances
Text – ​Daniel 3:19-30, Matthew 22:37-40
Rev Key Min Lee

​Most people, when they want to begin something new or make a change in their lives, try to change their circumstances first.  Why?  Because when their surroundings or the things they can see begin to change, they feel as though something new is beginning.  So people spend a great deal of time and effort trying to change the circumstances they are in.
But no matter how much our circumstances change, those changes usually last only a few days or, at most, a few months.  For example, even if we rearrange the furniture and do a deep cleaning to change the atmosphere or environment of our home, before long we find ourselves rearranging the furniture again or doing another deep cleaning.  The reason is that our circumstances themselves are empty; they are not what can give us a sense of fullness.  In other words, the way we see our circumstances depends on what is in our hearts.
Then what does the Bible say is the opposite of emptiness?  It is fullness.  Ephesians 1:23 says, “The church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”  In other words, the invisible God alone is our fullness, and He alone is the One who can lead us from emptiness into a complete experience of fullness.
Beloved congregation, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will not look at your circumstances but will look to God and experience complete fullness.
In today’s passage, we meet three friends of Daniel.  Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Although they were in different places from Daniel, they were people who worshiped God every day, at the same time, each in their own place.  But one day, King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image of himself and declared that anyone who did not bow down to it would be thrown into a blazing furnace (v. 6).  Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to obey the king’s command, they were thrown into the blazing furnace (v. 20).
As we know, Daniel and his three friends were young men from noble families who were among those first taken captive during the Babylonian exile (Dan. 1:3).  This means that their circumstances changed in an instant—from being members of royal or noble families to becoming captives.  But when we look at the situation, we can understand why Nebuchadnezzar did this.
King Nebuchadnezzar developed a calculated political strategy to prevent the royal family and people of Judah who remained in Jerusalem from rebelling in the future.  He took the key descendants of the royal family of Judah as hostages and brought them into the Babylonian kingdom.  Daniel and his three friends were among those chosen.
As a result, they had been raised in the highest social position before their homeland was destroyed, but as young boys, they suddenly experienced the great hardship of becoming captives in a foreign nation.  Yet, because of the manners and wisdom they had learned while growing up in the royal court, they were able to excel in the royal education of Babylon.  Later, they were used as high-ranking officials and even as leaders within the empire.
There is another interesting fact here.  It is estimated that they were in their mid-teens when they were taken captive.  The reason is that the first Babylonian exile took place in 605 BC, and Daniel’s ministry continued through the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, around 536 BC (Dan. 10:1), meaning that he was active in the Babylonian and Persian Empires for approximately 60 to 70 years.  If Daniel and his three friends had been in their twenties or thirties when they were taken captive, Daniel would have been close to 100 years old by the end of his life, making it difficult for him to carry out his ministry.
But why am I talking about their age here?  The reason is simple.  The younger we are, the more likely we are to forget our past as we adapt to a new environment.  And the younger we are, the more quickly we tend to adapt when our surroundings change.
In other words, these young men were taken captive from an environment where they worshiped God and brought into Babylon, a place where people worshiped foreign gods.  As they learned a new language and culture and adapted to their new surroundings, it would have been understandable for them to drift away from the life of worshiping God that they had known before.
Let us return to the passage.  The circumstances of the three friends’ lives had changed.  They went from being members of royal or noble families to captives, and from captives to high-ranking officials in the empire.
But even though the circumstances and positions of Daniel and his three friends changed, their lives of worship and prayer before God did not change.  In other words, although their circumstances and positions in life changed, the most important part of their lives—their life of worshiping God—never changed.
Every day, at the same time, in their own places, they continued to worship God and pray to Him as they always had.  They did not take even a single day off from doing so.
This means that changing our circumstances does not give us a reason to worship God better or love God more.  Rather, our actions and the way we live are determined by what fills our hearts.
Today, we have the Bible, so we know how they worshiped and honored God.  But how difficult must their lives have been while they were actually living through those circumstances?  Did they not see only the life of captivity that they had never planned for, a completely new environment, and the lives of people who worshiped idols?
Think about it.  How much effort must these four young friends have made to protect their faith?  Please remember this:  No matter how much our circumstances change, unless our hearts are turned toward God, our lives and actions will never truly change.  People say that the world is becoming darker and darker.  If that is true, is there really no hope?
But Nebuchadnezzar’s confession in Daniel 3:28 shows us exactly what kind of life we should live from this point forward.  If we fill our hearts with God and do not focus on our circumstances, and if our lives are a continual expression of thanksgiving and worship, then just as God used these three friends to make known to the whole world that the Creator of the world is the one true God, would He not use us in the same way?  If so, is there really no hope?
Beloved congregation, like Daniel and his three friends, we simply need to live a life that reveals God regardless of our circumstances or situation.  That means giving thanks to God and giving Him glory every day.
If we focus only on changing our circumstances, it may make us feel better for a while, but it may not provide any help to those who are wandering in darkness, those who are wounded and in need of healing.
But God works through our circumstances to reveal and show Himself as the Creator and Savior.  And He brings true restoration.
God works through our circumstances.
Give thanks in every circumstance.  Through your lives, the living God will be proclaimed to the world and to everyone around you.  And that proclamation will become a proclamation of hope to all who are wandering in darkness.
May you have a week filled with such grace.  I bless you in the name of the Lord.