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.”

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted,  “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!  Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them.  They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed;  their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.   Daniel 3:25-27  NIV

If you have never read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the blazing furnace, let me tell you about it.  King Nebuchadnezzar made this image of gold.  He ordered that every time the people of this region heard the music play, they were to bow down and worship this golden idol or image.  Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to do so. The King spoke with them and gave them a chance to worship the image or be thrown into the fire and still they refused.  You see, they worshiped the one true God.  Now this infuriated old King Nebuchadnezzar, and he ordered that his strongest soldiers tie these three up and throw them into a blazing furnace.  The fire was so hot that it killed the soldiers that threw them in there.  But low and behold when the king looked into the furnace, he saw not three, but four men, walking around in the flames.  Wow!

Have you ever felt like you were walking around in the flames?  I’m not just talking about a hot Louisiana summer.   I mean have you ever felt like you were in a blazing hot fire and everything was falling down around you?  Can you imagine willingly going into the fire?  If you think about it, that’s exactly what these three did.  They were given a choice.  They could worship the golden image, or refuse and be cast into the furnace.  They very respectfully told King Nebuchadnezzar that the God they worshiped could deliver them from that fire.  Then they boldly told the king that even if God did not deliver them that they would not worship his image of gold.  Wow!  They said all this knowing that they would be thrown into the furnace if they didn’t obey the king’s commands.

We too have a choice.  We can follow along with the crowd or we can refuse to worship the idols in our lives. We can choose to worship the one true God.  Now when we choose to worship the one true God, we may have days when we feel as though we are walking through the fire.  But you see, here’s the difference, God will be with us through the fire.  But we have to choose to serve him.  We have to choose to have him in our lives.

In Deuteronomy 31:6 Joshua is told as he is about to take the place of Moses, “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them.  For it is the Lord your God who goes with you;  He will not leave you or forsake you.”  No matter what we face, the Lord is right there with us.  He is protecting us from the flames that try to destroy us.  He is refining us like gold and purifying us through the fire.  We are told in the bible that the fire tests our work.  If what we have built, we have made strong enough to withstand the fire and it survives, the builder will receive a reward (1 Corinthians 3:11-17)

So my question today is what are you building your foundation with?  Are you building a foundation with Jesus Christ?  If so, He will be with you through the fire.  He will walk with you in the flames and He will protect you.  He will strengthen you in the fire and you will come out without even smelling like smoke.  Or you can choose to walk through the fire alone and well, in that case you will get burned.  I’ve been there, done that and got the smoky t-shirt to prove it.

You see I would much rather experience the fire here on earth knowing that Jesus is right there with me, than go into eternity in the lake of fire where I am separated from God.  Revelation 21:8 says that,  “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.,”.  

The way I see it, it’s a no brainer.  I have made a decision that I will gladly walk through fire here on earth with God right beside me.  I definitely don’t want to face an eternity in fire separated from Him.  I strongly encourage you to do the same.

Have a great day!