You Never Know Whom You'll Meet in a Tight Spot!

"He answered and said, 'Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!'" (Daniel 3:25)

Three young Hebrew men learned a wonderful lesson about God, beloved, and they learned it, of all places, right smack in the middle of a blazing furnace! Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, better known to us by their Babylonian names given to them by the king - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego - had made a serious decision concerning the degree of their commitment to God. And that commitment had cost them their personal freedom and a one-way trip to Babylon's biggest bonfire! They certainly hoped that God would choose to keep them out of the fire, but their determination to obey Him was just as resolute even if He did not:

"But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (Daniel 3:18)

But it is upon those moments when they were actually in the furnace that I would like for us to focus briefly, beloved. Note carefully that Nebuchadnezzar had ordered three men bound and three men cast into the furnace. And knowing that surely even a pagan like Nebuchadnezzar could count to three, how utterly shocked he was to look into the furnace as was his perverted pleasure to do and find four men "loosed and walking about" unharmed in the flames! And even that pagan king could see the resemblance to divinity when he described the fourth man as being "like a son of the gods."

This incident is replete with wonderful lessons for us as Christians today. One that occurs to me immediately is that Shadrach and Meshach and Abed-nego knew that the furnace was coming. It came as no surprise to them when they were trussed up for their brave stand and cast into a smoking, blazing inferno. Today we should never be surprised when the fiery trials of this life come our way. In our heart of hearts we know they're coming, beloved. And especially as Christians who take a stand in this sinful world for Jesus Christ, we've got to know that our faithful dedication to Him is going to bring some "fire" into our future!

"And indeed, all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12)

A couple of other truths occur to me as I read this familiar passage again. One is that God isn't always going to keep us out of the flames. I know that we, like the three Hebrew men here, would love for Him to do just that, but it just isn't always going to happen. Sometimes the simple truth is that the flames are part of the plan! Nowhere in God's word will you find Him promising us that we will not know tribulation. Quite the opposite!

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4)

Another truth that occurs to me is that God isn't ever going to leave us alone in the flames. What we go through in life, we never go through alone. If we take time to look around, wherever the trial may take us, there will always be an extra person present! And if Nebuchadnezzar could recognize His divinity through the scratched-up glass of a furnace window, then surely we can spot Jesus because He will never be far away:

"Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,' so that we confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

One other truth that occurs to me, beloved, is that unbelievers will always be watching every time we are tossed into the flames of this life. Know it or not, like it or not, skeptics and mockers will be watching to see how we handle the fire, just as they did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. How we handle our trials will be some kind of witness to this watching world.

Just as God brought three Hebrew men through a furnace of blazing fire and caused a king to stand amazed and even declare that He is "the Most High God," so today God will astound those who watch what you suffer, beloved. He will, that is, if like Shadrach and Meshach and Abed-nego we determine that, come what may, we are going to be true to God. So we can know whom we are going to meet in that next tight spot, beloved! And you can look for Him and find Him with you every time that you by God's design encounter one of the many trials of life. Let me encourage you, then, to always look for Jesus first when the tough times come. When you know He's there with you, somehow it just looks different!

Ron