Walking Through the Fire
Wouldn’t it be nice if life truly was like what we see on facebook every day? Or that our life’s messiness could be wrapped up and clean like at the end of a 90 minute movie? Maybe…but then I think we would miss out on a whole lot of living!
If life were 100% perfect 100% of the time, I think we would lose perspective. Would we really understand what perfect is anymore? You see, I am a firm believer that it is the hard times that make us truly understand and appreciate the good times.
The truth is, life is full of fires, big and small, that threaten to harm us. The question is, how do I respond while I am IN the fires? Do I scream out in anger and frustration that God is allowing such a thing? Do I give in and let the fire do its damage and negatively impact me? Or do I trust God to stand with me and be my Victory?
I am reminded of the story of three courageous men in the Old Testament who had more faith in God than they had fear for the fire. And their faith has a HUGE lesson for me today, right now, during the fire I find myself in.
First, a little background: King Nebuchadnezzar built a ginormous image of gold that was to be worshiped every time the people heard the music sound the call or they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused–even when given a second chance to worship the false idol and escape the fire.
Why? What made them so full of courage? They had great faith in an even greater God! They told the king that God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace, but even if He didn’t, they would not compromise! Wow!
So good ‘ole hot-headed Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to be bound and the fires to be made so hot that the soldiers throwing our brave three into the furnace were killed by its flames. That’s a pretty HOT fire!
Now here’s the part of the story that I love. When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he saw four, not three, men walking around loose and unharmed! God did not abandon his faithful followers to enter the fire alone–He was with them. And just as they had said, He was able to deliver them from the fires! (However, as usual, I think God’s thinking is way different from ours! They probably meant God could save them from going INTO the fire, but God saved them while IN the fire!)
And did you catch the really, really cool part? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego went into the fire bound–they came out completely unharmed, AND they were no longer bound! God used the fire to remove the ropes that bound them, yet they were completely untouched by the flames, and the smell of fire was not even on them! And the result? King Nebuchadnezzar believed in God!
So back to my messy, “unfacebook-like” life. How do I respond to the fires in my life–albeit, and thankfully, symbolic? Do I put my complete trust in God, believing that He alone is able to deliver me in whatever way He deems best? This is hard! Letting go of all shreds of control–total surrender to God!
Do I trust that He holds all things together at all times? And even more intimately, He holds me in the palm of His hand!
Do I trust that God can use the flames to work in my life–setting me free from whatever holds me back from total surrender?
Do I allow God to be my Victory so that I walk triumphantly through the fires without even a hint of the flames or smoke?
I think that it is as we learn to totally surrender all things to God that we learn to truly experience life as He intended for us! If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had never experienced the fire, they would never have experienced the deliverance either. And even more, they wouldn’t have been able to impact Nebuchadnezzar’s faith in the only true God.
Lord, as scary and painful as the fires seem, may I trust You as my Victor! Use the difficult times in my life to loose the cords that threaten my intimacy with You. May I come through the fire with the aroma of Christ fresh on me. And may others see Your work in my life and believe in You and know that You are worthy to be praised. Thank You for Your work in my life, my heart, through the fire. I know that You are 100% able to save.
