ANOTHER IN THE FIRE

[This week we continue in our journey through the book of Daniel]

Greetings church family!

Daniel 3:19-27 - Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, and he commanded some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Since the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king. He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king. He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

It was the summer before my 7th grade year, and the public school informed my parents that I had some shots I needed to take prior to the start of the school year. Getting vaccines were not my idea of fun as an adolescent. In fact, I had a very slight phobia. I didn’t remember the exact incidents at the time, but my mom said that prior to preschool, I would fight the nurse, keeping her from being able to give me the shots I need for school. Apparently they had to strap me down to the bed in order to finally administer those shots.

Well, I didn’t feel like I was any more comfortable with them as a 7th grader. Even at 12 years old, my mom had to sit me down and try to prepare me for the visit to the doctor for my vaccinations. I remember her telling me that the shots were unavoidable, but she would hold my hand the entire time. I’m pretty sure I squeezed her hand quite strongly during the process, but she didn’t get angry at me for doing so. She just smiled and said, “I’m here Chris, I’m here. It’s going to be OK.”

We pick up in the Daniel saga where the 3 Hebrew boys  made it clear to King Nebuchadnezzar that they would not bow down to the golden statue, whether or not their God would rescue them from the furnace. Just like my mom didn’t keep me from the vaccination appointment, God didn’t keep Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. Also like my mother with me, God didn’t abandon them either.

As Nebuchadnezzar peered into the furnace, he was astonished. Instead of seeing three men consumed by the flames, he saw four men walking unharmed in the midst of the fire. The king exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25, CSB).

The fire that threatened to destroy them became the place where they experienced God's presence most deeply.  

Notice something else: when the three men emerged from the furnace, not even the smell of smoke clung to them. Yet although the flames could not touch them, the ropes that bound them were gone.

Sometimes God uses the fires we fear to burn away the things that bind us.

Trials have a way of simultaneously exposing our false securities and deepening our trust in Jesus. We would never choose the furnace, but often it is there that we discover the nearness of God in ways we could not have known otherwise.

Perhaps you are walking through a furnace today—a health crisis, financial uncertainty, grief, disappointment, loneliness, or persecution for your faith. Remember this: the absence of deliverance is not the absence of God. The same Lord who stood with three Hebrew exiles in Babylon walks with His people today.

He may deliver you from the fire. He may sustain you through the fire. But He will never abandon you in the fire.

If you haven’t heard the song by Hillsong United called “Another In The Fire”, I invite you to find it and enjoy a blessed listen.  The lyrics are below.

ANOTHER IN THE FIRE - by Joel Houston and Chris Davenport
[Verse 1]
There’s a grace when the heart is under fire
Another way when the walls are closing in
And when I look at the space between
Where I used to be and this reckoning
I know I will never be alone

[Chorus 1]
There was another in the fire
Standing next to me
There was another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
Of how I've been set free
There is a cross that bears the burden
Where another died for me

[Tag 1]
There is another in the fire

[Verse 2]
All my debt left for dead beneath the waters
I’m no longer a slave to my sin anymore
And should I fall in the space between
What remains of me and this reckoning
Either way I won’t bow
To the things of this world
And I know I will never be alone

Blessings church family!

Pastor Chris