Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 6) from the Old Testament story were quite confident in their God. However, King Nebuchadnezzar, an Assyrian, who established himself as King of Babylon, created a new ruling that if the lyre, fife, trumpet, harp and other musical instruments sounded, every knee should bow to the god he wanted them to worship.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were highly respected Jewish leaders and they refused to bow down to his god stating their God would protect them from any repercussions. Their punishment for not bowing was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. The soldiers who bound them and threw them in the fire were burned alive from the heat of just being near the furnace. The three young Jewish men were then freely standing amid the fire with a fourth partner that King Nebuchadnezzar recognized as the Son of God. The men, who were able to leave the fire unscathed, had turned the thinking of the leadership to now follow the God that had protected them from being consumed in the fiery furnace.

As sinners, living an earthly life, we have had experiences of feeling as if we were being tossed into a fire of woe. Life is full of more than rocky roads; it can have major pot holes.

Is your faith in your God strong enough to withstand the “heat” of your fiery test? God wants you to lean on Him. God wants you to trust Him. He loves you unconditionally and wants ALL of you, body, mind and soul to cling to Him.

Don’t wait for the trumpet sound of warnings to catapult you into a pit of despair. Be holding the hand of your Lord. Stand strong. Believe. He will cool the flames.

Jill