The Heat is On

Tonight, while working with the elementary aged children at church, I heard the old familiar bible story about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego. These three brave men refused to worship a golden idol built for King Nebuchadnezzar. When the King gave them a second chance to obey his command they still refused to bow and worship the idol. The King was very unhappy and ordered that the men be thrown into the fiery furnace. The men just responded to the king by saying, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we did not make a mistake nor will we apologize for not bowing down.  If we are thrown into the furnace, the God we worship will save us, and he will rescue us.  But even if he doesn't, we still will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold." So, right away the king ordered the heat to be turned up and he had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendago thrown into the furnace. Suddenly, the king shouted, "Weren't there only three men thrown into the fire?"  His soldiers replied, "O, yes king."  King Nebuchadnezzar said, "Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, untied and unhurt, and the fourth looks like some kind of angel!" He called the men out of the fire. They were completely unharmed and didn't even smell of smoke. At that moment Nebuchadnezzar knew that they worshiped a real God not some fake statue.  God had sent an angel to protect them from harm, and even more importantly he realized that they truly believed and trusted in God.  They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

 

When the "heat" was on, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendago chose to stay calm, be patient, remain respectful, stand up for what they believed in and place their full trust in God. How often is the "heat" on in our lives? How often do we remain respectful, calm, patient, strong and trusting? It is so easy to get impatient and frustrated, angry and irritable, to start treating others with disrespect, giving in to temptations, and putting our trust in ourselves or in other people. 

Today I am thankful for this Bible story. We often think of these stories as children's Bible stories but I believe this one has a lesson for all of us to learn (maybe especially for adults to learn). We are always in such a rush, worried about this and that, and trying to get things done. So, when the heat does get turned up in our lives we really mess up. The king was able to see God in the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendago EVEN in the fiery furnance! Can others see God in you EVEN when your in middle of your "fire"? 

Thank you, Father, for this reminder. Thank you for these precious stories you have given us to help us lead lives that are pleasing to You. Please help us to honor you with our lives at all times so that others can see You in Us, regardless of what is going on in our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen