COURAGE, BRAVEHEART

You guys know the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, right? In case you don’t, here’s a little recap:

In Daniel 3, there is a story about three Jewish men who were faithful followers of God. They lived and served under King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image in the plain of Dura (meaning dwelling) and commanded that all his officials bow down before it. All who failed to do so would be thrown into a blazing furnace.

When some tattle-tale officials informed the king that three Jewish men, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (who bore the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), whom the king had appointed to high office in Babylon were refusing to worship the golden statue, he was infuriated. The men were brought before Nebuchadnezzar, where again, they not only refused to bow down to the statue, they even went so far as to inform the king that God would be with them regardless of the king’s determined fate for them.

Outraged, Nebuchadnezzar commanded that they be thrown into the fiery furnace, which was heated seven times hotter than normal…but when the king looked into the furnace, he saw four figures walking around unharmed in the flames, and the fourth figure looked like “a son of God.” Seeing this, Nebuchadnezzar immediately brought the three men out of the flames, and realized that the fire had not touched them! Not their skin. Not the hair on their heads. Not their cloaks or garments. The fire had harmed NO PART OF THEM and there was NOT EVEN A SCENT of fire on them. Amazed, the king then restored them back to their high office and decreed that anyone who did not worship their God should be torn limb from limb.

Umm…yikes. That’s a little intense, Neb.

First off, it always makes me laugh how intensely Nebuchadnezzar makes decisions purely based on his emotions in the moment. One minute he’s telling everyone he’ll kill them if they don’t worship his golden statue and the next he’s telling them he’ll tear them limb from limb if they worship anything other than the one true God. Jeez buddy, make up your mind.

Now this seems like a pretty unbelievable story doesn’t it? I know. Don’t worry. The bible’s actually chock-full of them. But we’re just gonna jump right in because it’s a story that points to something really important and hopeful that I want us to look at. So here are these faithful followers of God, right? These three brothers of the faith who didn’t give a lick what the king said. That takes some serious guts. Or stupidity. Maybe a little bit of both. Or just insane faith and belief in the God they served, knowing that He was completely trustworthy. These three faithful men were not going to bow down and worship ANY false idols and their confident response to the king still amazes me.

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Fervent faith. That’s what those men had. Hot, burning, passionately intense faith.

Think about it. These men were willing to be put to death in one of the worst imaginable ways and they didn’t even flinch. They knew and believed so strongly in the word of God, His commandments, and that He is faithful to His promises, that they were not going to let a little fear cause them to change their actions, behaviors, or their belief.

“They were not fearful of the fire,

they were fervent in their faith.”  

– sb

They would remain steadfast even to death. And so to their deaths they went. And yet…when they went through the fire, they were not scarred. They were not burned. Not a SINGLE hair was singed on their heads, and they didn’t even reek of smoke. Now, I don’t know what kind of fire this was, but the fires I’ve been through in my own life have looked drastically different than this. As much as I wish my experience was like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s…it hasn’t been. I haven’t come out of my fires unscathed. No, I have come out of mine scarred, wounded, scorched and singed beyond belief, and I still reek with the stench of those fires from years past.

What about you? Maybe you are going through your own fire right now. Maybe it’s an unexpected health diagnosis that you are completely terrified about. Or maybe you have been through the fire of losing a child or a parent. Maybe your fire is battling deep soul crushing anxiety and depression, where you can’t even get out of bed or maybe your fire is the loss of a dream, the loss of a friend, or the crumbling of a marriage. Maybe it’s the uncertainty of yet another job, experiencing unemployment, and not being able to pay your bills or feed your children whose belly’s have gone hungry again. Whatever fire you are going through right now, I’m so sorry. I have dealt with many of my own fires and they are so painful.

And although my story and your story may not look the same as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we do share one common denominator with them, and that is that God is with us in the fire and we need not be afraid of it. We’re not alone in the fire, because the Lord is ALWAYS with us. Whether our fire is just a little spark of a flame or is raging out of control, He promises us that we will not walk through it alone. That He will indeed take us THROUGH the fire and that we will not be burned up by it. Yes, we may be scarred. Yes, we may be wounded. Yes, we may reek of the aftermath. But like Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego, God was with them in their fire, and He’s with us in ours, speaking words of comfort and peace, reassurance and strength over us.

I think sometimes we believe that our fires have no purpose or that they are meant to hurt or harm us, punish us, or teach us some lesson. But the truth of the matter is, oftentimes the fires we walk through have to do with something much bigger than just our own experience. Going back to S, M, & A…prior to these three men being thrown into the fire, I imagine their idea was that God was going to rescue them. In the midst of fires, it makes sense that’d we’d look to God for rescue or an exit route, and sometimes I think we as people believe that when God rescues us, it’s going to look a certain way. But God’s idea of rescue doesn’t always look the way we expect it to or think it should. Perhaps to S, M, & A, a rescue could’ve looked something like this:

1) Nebuchadnezzar will be struck down by God & die before he can follow through on killing us.

2) Nebuchadnezzar will change the law or make an exception because of our high positions.

3) We can still worship God and we won’t get caught.

4) God will somehow protect us from being thrown into the fire – surely it won’t come to that.

5) Some other way of rescue or escape will have to happen.

But sometimes God has a purpose in all that He does, even when it doesn’t make sense to us. Here’s the thing – if God HAD struck down Nebuchadnezzar or changed the law or used any other rescuing tactic other than the one He chose, the king wouldn’t have thrown those men into the fire, where God had the opportunity to do something miraculous, which in turn changed the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, who then transformed the entire kingdom to be one that turned and believed and followed God. See, sometimes the fire is about something much greater than yourself. Sometimes it’s not always about just the lesson we need to learn but about how that lesson is going to affect and change other people as well. And sometimes we need to be reminded that the fires we go through and the wounds that are left from those fires ARE PART OF THE BATTLE AND PART OF THE PURPOSE.

I think the point is, just as Jesus went to the cross, and said “Lord, not my will but yours be done,” that’s how we need to think of things when we are faced with fires in our own life. We need to lead with the approach and mentality of “Lord, I’d rather not go through this, but not my will, but yours be done,” and trust His character. So rather than seeing our fires as awful experiences that are burning and scarring us, we can see them opportunities that are refining us.

No one wants to be scarred. No one wants to HAVE to go through the battle. Refining is painful. Jesus himself said, “Lord if you can take this cup from me, please do so, but not my will but yours be done. Not my will, but yours be done.” But EVEN JESUS left His fire with battle scars & wounds. Even Jesus had the stench of sin on Him. Even Jesus cried out, hoping that He’d not have to go through it. And even Jesus was faithful to the task of walking through His fire for a purpose bigger than Himself. For us.

Fervent faith.

So the next time a fire comes blazing into your life, try to remember that there’s something bigger at play, and ask the Lord to reveal it to you. And remember that you DO NOT STAND ALONE in that fire, and even though you’re not likely to come out of it unscathed and you may be limping away still smelling of smoke, you can know you’re in the company of our Savior whose battle wounds left Him marred as well. And although this current fire you’re facing might leave you scarred, you’re still standing and you’re going to make it through, sweet friends.

Rest in His truth. Rest in His word. Rest in His character. Rest in His plan. He’s refining you as the song Refiner says,

If the altar is where you meet us
Take me there, take me there
What you need is just an offering
It’s right here, my life is here
And I’ll be a living sacrifice for you
You’re a fire
The refiner
I wanna be consumed

I wanna be tried by fire
Purified
You take whatever you desire
Lord here’s my life

If your glory wants to come in
Let it fall, we want it all
Lord your fire is consuming
Fill this place, set it ablaze
I’ll be a living sacrifice for you
You’re a fire
The refiner
I wanna be consumed

I wanna be tried by fire
Purified
You take whatever you desire
Lord here’s my life

Clean my hands, purify my heart
I wanna burn for you, only for You
Take my life as a sacrifice
I wanna burn for you, only for You
You’re a fire
The refiner
I wanna be consumed

I wanna be tried by fire
Purifier
You take whatever you desire
Lord here’s my life

– Maverick City Music –

Scripture Reference: Daniel 3:3-30

Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. 3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. 6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! 10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. 11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

The Blazing Furnace

19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.

25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.