Fireproof

One of my very favorite stories in the bible comes from Daniel 3 when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the golden statue that the king commanded them to worship. Verses 19-30 say, “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. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 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. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames. 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. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” 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. 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! 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. 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!” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.” 

So I'll say it again if you didn't catch it, they came out not even smelling of smoke!!! The fire didn't even touch them!!! Jessica always says I came out of a fire not even smelling like smoke, which is weird because I quite literally felt as if I was burning alive (LOL), and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were about to do just that. The truth is when we look to Him for strength and we allow ourselves to grow fruit in the valley we can come out of the fire not smelling like smoke. Sometimes God delivers you from the fire and sometimes He just makes you fireproof.  These fires we walk through produce endurance and power, this grows our trust and faith in God. As followers of Christ, pain is not authorized to destroy us, it builds our story. There is power and purpose in the pain that we go through. We are not called to be comfortable, God is more concerned with our development than He is with our comfort. God doesn't waste a hurt, He knows you're going to learn something from this pain, not a tear is wasted. I really love this song called Another In The Fire by Hillsong United, it goes “There’ll be another in the fire Standing next to me There’ll be another in the waters Holding back the seas And should I ever need reminding How good You’ve been to me I’ll count the joy come every battle ‘Cause I know that’s where You’ll be.” 

Last night in our freshmen connect group we talked about why we as Christians go through trials, the truth is we live in a broken world. When sin entered this world, consequences entered with it. We cannot avoid trials, it is just a part of life. What we don't realize is people are watching us go through these fires, people are watching the way we react and respond to the trials we face. That is a witness in itself, when people see you going through the trials of life with grace and faithfulness they see something they want in their lives. Right now I can think of a couple of people just off the top of my head who have gone through hell and back and only came out stronger. When I look at those people I see something I want in my life. That something is Jesus. In the story, King Nebuchadnezzar himself said “There is no other god who can rescue like this” There's no denying that God was in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s story. Nebuchadnezzar came to know Christ through the trials of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Honestly, none of this is about us, we aren't on this earth to live the perfect most comfortable life. We are here to lead others to Christ, that is our sole purpose here. So embrace the suck, go through the trials, and come out stronger, let your actions speak volumes to those around you. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” With Jesus at the center of our lives, we can go through the fire and come out not even smelling like smoke. There is another in the fire with us pulling us through, in His hands we are fireproof.

Good Talk,

Rylie With The Messy Life :)