If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king.  But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.  Daniel 3:17-18 HCSB

Yesterday we talked about tests that are pass/fail.  As Christians, we know that this is the case with most of our tests. Our scripture passage today speaks of three young men who love the Lord and worshiped Him and Him alone. When they were faced with orders from the king to worship other gods or be thrown into the furnace, they chose to literally walk through fire rather than to turn away from the one true God.

Where we often make our mistake is when the heat gets turned up, we turn away.  We either think we can handle things on our own or we feel abandoned by God.  My friend, God never leaves or nor does he ever forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6).  In verse 25 of Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Look I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”  That’s right Nebuchadnezzar, you threw three of God’s children into a blazing furnace intending to do them harm, but there they are unharmed, walking around with God’s protection.  They came out of this blazing furnace with no soot on them and they didn’t even smell of smoke.  How awesome is that?

We are rewarded when we are faithful and pass the test.  Our first inclination when things go bad is to get upset and behave in a way that unbecoming to Christians. This destroys our witness.  The biggest reason that it destroys our witness is that it shows an incredible lack of faith.  If we are truly trusting God, then what is there to be upset about? Right?

Have you walked through the fire? Maybe you feel as though you are walking through fire right now. Well, let me tell you I have been through my fair amount of fires the last few years and I have learned one very important lesson.  The best way for me to walk through that fire is in faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). I assure you, if I look at the fire ahead of me knowing that I must walk through it, I’m going to be shaking with fear.  I don’t like fire.  But, I promise you that if you look at the fire knowing that God’s got this,  and just staying focused on him, I will walk through unharmed.

I have learned through my fiery ordeals that the best thing I can do is stay focused on God (Matthew 6:33).  When I stay focused on Him, he takes care of everything else.  So, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, our young men in the furnace, He will deliver me.

My dear friend used to say when we were nervous about a particular type of training that we thought might be really difficult, “They can’t eat us and they can’t kill us.”   In other words, we may be a little bruised and banged up but we will come through it.  As Christians, we know that the worst thing is we could die, right? The best thing is we could die, right?  The only thing waiting for us at the other side of our trail of fires, it eternity in heaven.  We can’t lose.

Having that kind of faith is really hard to do, so allow me to tell you what I have had to learn to do.  When the “what ifs” start creeping in.  You know, like what if the worst possible thing happens? Stop it, know that God is working all things out for your good (Romans 8:28).  Know that He has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11). Know that He will protect you (Psalm 91).  Call on the promises in God’s word.  Know that after you have suffered for a little while, that God Himself, will personally restore you (1 Peter 5:10).

So, remember when you face that fire, God’s got this! Don’t fear that fire, just walk right on through, knowing that He is right there beside you!

Have a great weekend!