Not alone in the fire
There are times when we feel alone in the decisions we have to make. We may even fear we would be abandoned by everyone if we were to face challenges and trials. But it’s often within the challenges that we have the opportunity to find one who promised to never leave us.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
There is a great illustration of God’s faithfulness shown to three Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge golden statue and commanded the people to bow down and worship it, whenever they heard certain music being played. The punishment for not doing so, was to be thrown into a fiery furnace and be burnt alive. But the three boys would not worship this idol and displease their God.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” – Daniel 3:16-18
This enraged the king and he had the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal and the boys were thrown in. The fire was so hot that even the guards who threw Shadrach Meschach and Abed-Nego into the furnace were burned and killed.
This fiery trial might have been the end for these boys, but just as they declared, God was with them. As the king stood watching, he noticed that they were moving about in the fire and what’s more, they were not alone, there was another in the fire with them.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” – Daniel 3:24, 25.
This is a great reminder that when we stand on God’s promises, He will never let us down. Even in the most fiery of trials, God can be found as He protects you, walks with you and guides you through it all.
It is easy to become complacent and unappreciative of the good things we have, including the good gift of the presence of God. It might be that you don’t always see or appreciate what God is doing for us every day. It may take a fiery trial for us to see and appreciate the other one walking with us and working for us. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, God will be with you in your fiery trial and bring you out without any trace of the hardship, not even the smell of smoke.
And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counsellors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. – Daniel 3:27
We don’t have to wait for the time of difficulty and fiery trial to appreciate the love of God or the truth that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Whenever you face difficult times, know that you are not alone, look for the other one in your fire. God is with you and will guide you out if only you trust in Him. He will protect you in the heat of the trial and bring you out safely and without any signs of the trial you faced, other than a deeper respect for Him.