Have you ever felt like you were being treated unfairly, or you were in a "hot spot" where there seemed to be no way out?
I think we've all been there. And recently I was reading about just such a situation in the Bible -- the story in Daniel chapter 3 where the three Hebrew boys were thrown into a fiery furnace.
The interesting part about this story is that they were thrown into this situation for obeying God!
"We Won't Bow"
As the story goes, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego refused to bow down to a statue of the king, no matter how bad the pressure got. They refused to forsake their God and worship any other.
Just think about it: they obeyed God -- and as a result, they got treated wrongly and unfairly! They were thrown into a huge roaring furnace for doing the right thing.
That reminds me that living life on this earth-with-a-curse isn't always a bed of roses. We will go through trials (sorry). But you notice that God didn't seem to mind that they found themselves in a heated situation. If that was true for them, it must be true for us, too!
No, God had a plan for that story to turn out spectacularly, and when you and I trust Him like they did, our story can turn out the same way.
You know what happened. When the three young lads were confronted for not bowing, they said, If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up (Daniel 3:17, 18 NIV).
Wow, you might try reading that again and confessing it over your situation!
Meanwhile, it's pretty impressive for young teenage boys like that to stand up to a king. But they refused to go along with the crowd. They refused to be moved by fear of what might happen. In fact, they declared that even if God didn't rescue them, they would stay true to Him. That's faith. That's having a relationship with your heavenly Father. That's when miracles start to happen.
Seven Times Hotter
Well, their stand for God made King Nebuchadnezzar hopping mad -- just like your stand for God makes your enemies hopping mad. The king was so mad, in fact, that he commanded the furnace to be stoked up seven times hotter than usual.
That makes me laugh! As if the regular temperature of fire wouldn't kill them! Isn't that just like the devil? He loves to turn up the heat! "Be afraid, the fire is seven times hotter!" Or he may say it this way: "Yeah, you could get healed from the flu, but you can't get healed from cancer!"
But seriously, what difference does the size of a trial make to God? He's God! It wasn't any harder for Him to save those boys from a seven-times-hotter fire than a regular-temperature fire. And it's not any harder for Him to get you out of your trouble, no matter how hot it is.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego TRUSTED God. And He came through for them. Perhaps the most breathtaking part of the story was when King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fire and saw not only the three boys standing there, but Someone in there with them.
Glory to God! He is always with us! You're never alone in the midst of your fiery trial! What a glorious thing to remember. And when this story is all said and done (against impossible odds) those three boys not only emerged from that fire alive and well, but they didn't even SMELL LIKE SMOKE. Everyone knew that their God was God, and they got promoted! (Daniel 3:27-30).
Trust and Obey
There are so many great lessons to be learned from this wonderful story:
(1) They didn't even smell like smoke when they emerged from that trial. That's supernatural! There’s no evidence of them having gone through it…NO HARM in any realm! (v. 27). Nothing about our trials have to stick to us. Our reputations, psyches, or well-being don't have to be adversely affected in the slightest.
(2) All they did was trust and obey, and God got HUGE glory for it. All WE have to do is trust and obey and God will get HUGE glory for it!
(3) At the time of obedience, no one is watching, no one is helping, and it looks like we’re laboring in obscurity or doomed. But when we tust God, it can all turn out victoriously because God is always faithful. Then everyone will acknowledge God, and we can get promoted.
(4) It looked bad. Real bad. Yet God was not bothered by that for one moment. He had a plan all along, and He's got a plan for you, too.
(5) He never left them. He waded right into that fire with them, and He's right there with you, too. He'll never leave you (Hebrews 13:5).
(5) When the pressure's on, it’s not easy to trust and obey. But man oh man, it’s worth it. To those who trust the Lord, victory is sweet!
