by Amanda Baker
Daniel 3:17-18 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
The book of Daniel contains familiar stories that I remember being taught from a very early age, yet in recent study of this Old Testament book, I have been struck by some simple yet profound truths. Some of those truths come from the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace. You know the story – Nebuchadnezzar built an image, probably of himself, for the people to worship. He had almost his whole kingdom bowing down to him at the sound of the music. Remember that kingdom included those from Babylon and more than likely multitudes of captured Hebrews who had assimilated into the culture of Babylon. Out of all those people, Babylonians and Hebrews alike, only three, that we know of, were willing to stand up rather than bow their knee to a pagan king. Now these three Hebrews were standing before one of the most powerful humans on earth at that time. A few things strike me here – Nebuchadnezzar gave them another chance to fall in line with the decree. He could have thrown them in the furnace without question. But the biggest truth here lies in the response of the Hebrews – “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” We know the rest of the story – God gloriously delivered them from the fiery furnace. But when they stood before the king, they did not know what would happen. They only knew that their God was worth living and even dying for! What faith and trust in an Almighty God!
What “furnace” are you facing today? There is no way to tell whether the Lord will choose to deliver you or whether He will choose to give you the grace to endure the “furnace.” But in either case, He promises us that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5) Live in confidence today that no matter what the outcome is, our God is worth standing for – no matter what!