Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace to be heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers,their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counsellors, ‘Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?’ They answered the king, ‘True, O king.’ He replied, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.’ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counsellors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.’ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (Daniel 3:19-30 NRSV)
Do you feel like your life is under fire? Under pressure?
Have you ever done something that someone in power did not like and they set out to get you?
Can you trust God with all of your life like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
I am sure all of us have been or are under pressure and feel like the fire is burning hot all around us. And we have all probably upset the powers that rule over us. We are human we can not make everyone happy all the time…
But do you trust God enough to risk dying for Him?
Do you trust Him with your life to stand up for your faith? In the face of those who are not part of it, and with those who are a part of it and say you have missed the boat? God is calling us to new adventures which may mean new a different things. Why do we believe that God will do nothing new now? The Pharisees thought this way too, that God had done all the new stuff and now it would always be the same, and then Jesus came along…
God will do what has o be done so that all of creation will be redeemed and we have to be ready to follow. So do you trust Him with your life?
I know I do…
aSacredRebel 