Standing Firm in the Fire
Make it stand out
by Ashley
- Lake Travis Location Coordinator -
Have you ever felt the pressure to go along with the crowd? For as long as I can remember, I have felt the pull to go along and get along so strongly in me. I am a firstborn, a peacemaker -- a true enneagram 9 -- I love peace. I also really love for people to like me. Unfortunately, we can’t all sit around the campfire of life singing Kumbaya. What do we do when we know we can’t go along with the crowd; when compromise isn’t an option; when the world is bowing and we are supposed to stand?
I want to look at a classic story in the Bible that can give us the courage to stand firm in the fire. Our story is found in Daniel 3. I encourage you to stop and read Daniel 3 if you don’t know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In short, King Nebuchadnezzar commands the people of Babylon to worship a golden image of himself, and these three Hebrew men refuse and are thrown into a fiery furnace. Let’s jump in!
Daniel 3:16, ”Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to him, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve can deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.'”
We, as Christ-followers, are called to be set apart for His purpose. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood for God against an earthly king when no one else would…boldly and with courage. We might not be standing against an earthly king, but we are faced with standing for truth in a world moving farther and farther away from truth. Are we willing to be weird, to be different, or to be ridiculed for our faith?
I know for me, if I am going through a trial my perspective is to see fire as a bad thing, but fire can be used for good. Fire brings light to the darkness. The fire provided revelation. Daniel 3:25 “He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’” It is so interesting that God himself was revealed to King Neb in that fire. Can the fire we experience be used not to consume us but to reveal Jesus to those who otherwise might not see him?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s obedience and unwavering commitment to God took what seemed impossible in the natural and it became supernatural. God showed up in the fire; He rescued them; He delivered them; and He didn’t stop there. He promoted them!
Daniel 3:27 “and the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.” Daniel 3:30, “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”
The next time we are in the fire let’s remember God is always faithful. He’s faithful when life is easy and He’s faithful in the fire. We were made to stand in the fire because God is with us, he’s revealing himself to us and to others, and he is in the business of rescue, deliverance, freedom, and promotion.