The Fiery Furnace, Part
2
Seven Times Hotter
The following
devotional is the second in a short series focusing on
Daniel 3: Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego in the fiery
furnace.
"Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward
them changed. He ordered the furnace heated
seven times hotter than usual and commanded
some of the strongest soldiers in his
army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw
them into the blazing furnace. So these men . . . were
bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's
command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the
flames of the fire killed the soldiers
who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego . . ."
(Dan 3:19-23)
Shadrack, Meshack
and Abednego--three Hebrew young men who refuse to bow
down to the king's giant image--suddenly find themselves
being offered a second chance from the king
himself. But the king's offer is heavily laced with
threats: "But if you do not worship it, you will
be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what
god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" (Dan
3:15). This doesn't phase these faithful men at
all, however, and they calmly reply: "O
Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves
before you in this matter. 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." (Dan. 3:16-18)
The king's response would indicate that
Nebuchadnezzar was NOT impressed by Shadrack, Meshack
and Abednego's declaration of faith! "Then
Nebuchadnezzar was furious with
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego . . ." (Dan
3:19) And in his anger, the king ordered that the
furnace be heated 7 times hotter then usual, he
commanded that the three Hebrews be bound, and he
ordered his strongest men to cast them into the fiery
furnace.
Isn't this, so often, what seems to
happen to us when we make a declaration of faith?
Often this is the time that everything just seems to
start going wrong. It seems that our trials
increase seven-fold, and we suddenly find ourselves
"bound" Why? Because like Nebuchadnezzar,
the devil becomes FURIOUS at our testimonies of faith!
And like Nebuchadnezzar, the devil usually proceeds to
send in his strongest forces to bind us. Then he
heats up the fires of trials and tribulations seven
times hotter than ever before, and he throws us in!
The trials he sends are so "hot" that his strong forces
cannot even stand them.
But there is good news, my friends!
Just like Jesus, Himself, walked in the fiery furnace
with Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego (see Dan 3:24,25),
He walks in the midst of even our most fiery trials!
Just like the cords were burned off of the hands of the
Hebrews (see Dan. 3:25), Jesus sets us free from the
"cords" the devil is trying to bind us with! Just
like Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, we NEED NOT FEAR!
For Jesus walks with us in the midst of everything the
devil tries to throw our way!
But isn't it the
case that when we are in the midst of the heaviest trials,
this is the time when we can't seem to SEE God? True.
Why? Because the devil likes to keep us blinded by
deception. But as surely as He walked in the furnace
with Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, He walks with us
today. The Bible tells us Heb 13:5: "Never will I
leave you; never will I forsake you." Our job is to
believe and claim this promise. When we do, the
devil's trials, the cords he uses to bind us, and his
strong forces will all fall away, just as assuredly as
they did for these faithful Hebrews.
Father God, When I
am in the midst of trials and tribulations, help me to
remember this story! Help me to remember that no
matter what, You will never leave me or forsake me!
Help me to remember to look beyond the trials and to claim
this promise, ever believing that You will remove the
binds, You will keep me from being burned, and You
will remove from me the strong forces that try to keep me
down!
Please see
Thursday's edition of The Illustrator for The Fiery
Furnace, Part 3.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,