God is With You in the Fire

God is With You in the Fire

Daniel 3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

     Daniel tells the story of 3 young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who dared to defy a king. King Nebuchadnezzar had built this tall statute in honor of himself and wanted all the people in the land to worship it. The decree was given that at the sound of the music playing, all was to bow down and worship the image or they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Some of the Jews' haters were among them when the order was given and decided to report to the king that these young men had not obeyed. 

            Wanting to know who would dare defy his order, he had the men brought before him. Although angry, he decided to give them another opportunity to bow down and worship his image. Despite being threatened to be thrown into the fire, the young men still refused to submit to the king's order. After their refusal to obey, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his soldiers to tie their hands and throw them into the fire after he had them to heat the fire 7 times hotter than it was. 

            One may ask, why didn't God prevent them from ever going into the fire. He could have easily done this and the young men would have never had to experience such an ordeal. However, this was obviously not the way that God wanted this story to go. While the young men were in the furnace, the king noticed that a 4th man was inside. The story goes on to say that he told the young men to come out of the furnace. There wasn't a burned hair on their head. Their clothes were not scorched and there was no smell of smoke. God protected them while in the mist of flames.

            This is the same thing that God does for us today. He doesn't always keep you from going into the fire. We will have trials, heartbreaks, and be faced with unpleasant situations in life. However, God is with us as we are going through. Someone may ask, "Why do we have to go through at all?" Well, just like we are discussing this story now, which happened centuries ago, someone will be able to learn from our story and gain strength as well.
            Everything that we go through is not just for us. We are to be a testimony for others who are dealing with life and its challenges. God already knew what was going to be the situation that the young men would face. Nothing is a surprise to God. However, He had already mapped out a plan of escape for them. When you go through things in life, just remember, God has already made a plan of victory for you in the end. And when you are done, you will look nothing like what you had been through. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had no evidence of the fire they had been in, the same goes for you. Trust me! I am a living witness to that! Trust in God...He has you even in the fire. 

 

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