I LOVE the story in the book of Daniel about Shadrach,Meshach, and Abednego!

I believe Veggie Tales made a video about them even- so you know it had to be an entertaining story 😉

I vaguely remember my church, in the 1980’s, doing a (or private school?) play about the story too…I think my brother was in it…my mom would have to weigh in on that memory!

If you don’t know the story off-hand, here is a recap:

These 3 guys were friends and were introduced to us in Daniel Chapter 1. The people of God (in the kingdom of Judah) were taken into captivity by the Babylonian king –Nebuchadnezzar.

Upon captivity, the best of the best of the Jewish young men were set apart to be trained for use by the King. They had to be the most handsome, the strongest, the smartest…and then they were educated in Babylon culture, fed extremely well, groomed by the finest for 3 years before put into the service of the King.

Daniel and his 3 friends made quite an impression on the king earning for themselves respectable positions as wise men.

This whole time they never veered from their Jewish culture, traditions, and belief in God as the One and True God– Yahweh.

Here we are now in Chapter 4~

Nebuchadnezzar was an incredible egotist who felt he was worthy of god-like adulation. So, he built a gigantic shrine of himself out of gold declaring that when music played all should bow down in worship toward his image.

Needless to say, this is quite an issue for a God-fearing Jew…The Lord very clearly gave the command that those who believe in Him should not worship any other god before Him.

We now have a conflict.

Troublemakers in the kingdom tattled on those of the Jewish faith living in Babylon-singling out those who had been specifically hired and trained to be in the kings service because they were deemed “special”…saying if we have to worship an image why don’t they???

Can you hear the whining?? Sounds like my children on some days when I ask one to wash the dishes and not the other…

Being an ego-maniac, King Neb cannot handle that disrespect! He calls out Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to give them a chance to rectify this unfortunate “misunderstanding”.

The punishment of not bowing in worship to his image will be death by fire so I believe King Neb was probably pretty convincing in his proposal: worship me and live OR don’t and die a horrible death…CHOOSE!

Here comes the amazing part of this story~

In Daniel 4:16-18, the three friends say some awesome things:

1. We don’t really owe you an explanation of our reasons because we only answer to a real God

2. Our God,that we really serve, is able to rescue us from even your hand so we are not worried about your threats

3. BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we still would not worship you or any image you set up.

Holy crap…is that ever CONFIDENCE!

In the face of a king, a man with absolute highest power and authority on earth and with the promise of a horrible death as a consequence to an act of defiance toward said king, they spoke up and stood firm in what they believed in.

Yowza.

The part that gets me, though, is the but even if He does not choose to rescue us from your hand we still will believe in who He is because of who He is over you.

They were acutely aware that God could choose to allow them to die…that there is not always victory in this life or in every circumstance…FAITH DOES NOT SHIELD US FROM BAD THINGS HAPPENING.

To these guys, and the example through them to us, is that their faith and obedience to serve God supersedes the cost.

If they died, it would be a reflection of their obedience to God and faith in Him- no matter what…How many martyrs have there been for our Lord? People who would not renounce their faith with the threat of their imminent death in front of them?

I think of the horrific tales of Christian persecution in Rome as the first church was growing and spreading…the Apostle Paul was a part of that before his encounter with Christ. Christians were arrested, tortured, and killed for their faith.

But their obedience to Christ was worth more than their lives….because living for Him is worth more than anything.

So, here we are, with these 3 guys and a King…

They make this HUGE slap in the face declaration to Nebuchadnezzar and seriously TICK HIM OFF.

He orders the furnace fire to be stoked hotter than it has ever been, has them tied up to each other, and taken to the furnace.

Upon approach, because it is so hot, the men dragging this bundle of faithful men actually die from the heat exposure!!

This causes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to loose balance and fall into the furnace.

Talk about bad luck!

The glorious ending to this story is that when King Neb (I am sorry- his name is just too ridulously long to keep typing out!) looks into the furnace he not only sees the 3 men walking around inside the furnace but he also sees a fourth man in there with them.

They were released from the furnace with Nebuchadnezzar acknowledging the saving grace and power of their God.

Here is the take away for me….they still went into the furnace.

Remember how how they said “but even if He doesn’t rescue us…”?

I imagine they must have assumed they were about to die…and they still did not back down from their faith.

They felt the heat.

They saw their captures burn up as they escorted them close to the furnace door.

They stumbled into the furnace itself.

And found freedom inside it.

Powerful stuff there, isn’t it?

I have an illness that there is no cure for…there is plenty of treatment but no cure. The more I learn about it the more uneasy I get that what I hope for in treatment may not happen for a long time…if ever.

Don’t go feeling sorry for me…I am inconvenienced by the disease process and treatment plan, I am uncomfortable at times, I do not like it at all…but I do not believe it will kill me. It is going to keep me humble though- that is for sure!

However, I have a close friend with advanced cancer. There also is no cure for her…just treatment. Her treatment is chemo and it is literally killing things in her body as it fights those cancer cells. If she stops the chemo, the cancer will most likely rear up with a vengeance. If she continues the chemo….well, she lives with the side effects…

God could heal us both in an instant…and He would be glorified in that miracle would He not?

Our friends and family would surely declare His goodness because of it…right?

Trust me….I want that.

I don’t want to deal with my Crohn’s anymore.

You have no idea what I deal with, think about, have to plan for on a regular daily basis.

I really wish I didn’t have to do it.

More than that, I want my friend healed. I want her to celebrate 50 years of marriage to her husband; I want her to walk her daughter down the aisle to her awaiting groom; I want her to bounce her son’s child on her knee…

I want to celebrate turning 50 years old with her.

I want to write a book with her like we used to talk about doing.

I want to help her take care of her aging parents instead of watch them have to take care of her needs due to the chemo.

But even if He doesn’t…

That is where it comes in to play, doesnt it?

Right there in the lists of “I want…”

I can’t speak for my friend or her family’s perspective on this…I can only speak from my end on this journey for my life and my life intersected with hers…

I may not be healed.

None of us are promised that.

So, what next then?

I have no more an idea of what is coming than Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did… They were led to a furnace and pushed into it after all.

Their suffering and death was right there…in their face with the seering heat of the fire blowing toward them.

That is how our pain, sickness, fear, uncertainties feel…like a threatening, painful fire.

We sense bad things coming, we anticipate them around every bend, we worry for how long, how bad, how much it be or cost…

God can choose to alleviate it…or allow it…

My choice is what will I do when I don’t know what He will do…

Will I turn from my faith? Renounce it even?

Will I demand my way? Insist that I know best and not God?

OR

Will I be obedient to Who it is I believe in and stand firm in my faith?

My faith in Christ is not about me getting my way, having a problem free life, or seeing things work out without entanglements…It is about Jesus Christ loving this world to CHOOSE to die for it so those who believe in Him can LIVE eternally in righted relationship with God.

The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego was not exemplified by their time in the furnace…it was in their courage to stand for what they believed in with the promise of the furnace in front of them…the potential for their suffering layed before them.

The evidence of their faith was what happened in the furnace.

For me, the example of my faith is in how I handle what has been placed in front of me….with all the possibilities spelled out for me to see.

What will my furnace look like? Who knows…but I know this:

Serious cleansing and refining happens by a fire….and I won’t be left alone it it either.

My faith is strengthened as I approach whatever it is that scares me, clinging to the hand of God, His Word, and His promises as I go.