Forged in Fire
I read a word of encouragement this morning while scrolling through my Instagram feed that said:
“Do you suppose that the same Son of God that stood in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is not also standing with you? Your furnace may look different than theirs but the One alongside you has not changed.”
What a great reminder that our God is a constant across the ages. Also, what a gift that God continues to stand with us throughout our trials, each and every one of us. Our God is present and active in our lives and in the world.
It doesn’t always feel that way…the headlines proclaim a world that looks like a dumpster fire. If there wasn’t war and rumors of war fanning the flames of power and capitalism, would the world cease spinning? It has always been this way, but more than ever we are made aware of the violence, the epidemics, the poverty, the disasters by the 24-hour news cycle.
In our personal lives, life seems to feel like we are racing to put out one fire and then another…and then another. Everyone is facing some battle in their lives, whether it is fighting for health coverage, battling through illness, fighting for a job, fighting an addiction, working through grief, or giving voice to the voiceless, this thing called life can be exhausting.
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was always one of my favorites in the Bible. The three young men, along with Daniel were Israelites serving in the Babylonian court of King Nebuchadnezzar. The king made a huge golden statue and demanded that everyone bow down and worship it. The Israelites refused to do so, and the King threw them into a fiery furnace as a punishment. Just as the three men claimed, their God protected them from the flames. The king and his servants saw four men unbound and walking through the fire. The fourth was described as “having the appearance of a god.” They walked from the fire without the smell of smoke or even a singe on the hem of their cloaks.
This too, is our God. The God who spoke through a burning bush that was not engulfed. The God who protected his faithful in Babylon from the furnace. The God who ignited a holy movement with tongues of fire on the heads of believers….that is our God. And he will do this for us as well. So I pray that whatever furnace you face, you continue to worship God and find hope in the promise that he will be in it with you. Amen.