Brown's Daily Word 2-18-09

Good Morning,
We read in Daniel 3, a record of how three men they trusted the Lord and obeyed Him, despite being faced with a fiery furnace. It is possible to trust the Lord in the face of fierce opposition and to abandon ourselves fully in to His everlasting mercy and grace, in to His powerful embrace. Some how Jesus comes and gives us the victory. In his book, "Intermission", James Schaap tells us there are two ways to read this famous story of three Jewish young men found in Daniel 3.
First, it can be interpreted - There stand three men, shoulders back, heads up in front of a crowd, smiling and laughing, full of confidence that nothing will harm them. They know God will save them. The men who throw them into the furnace are burned like paper because the fire is so intensely hot, but the three men stand there, untouched by the flames, their robes hanging gently at their sides. The second interpretation is that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are confident all right, but they're confident of something more important than being saved from the fire: they are confident of eternal salvation. They say to the king,
(Dan 3:17-18) "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. (18) But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Notice the difference. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know that God is more than able to save them from the blazing furnace if He wants to, but they don't know if God will save them. It is very well possible that they stood there before the furnace, fighting back tears, each one hugging their wivese and children for what may very well be the last time, giving final instructions and blessings, trying to impart words of wisdom and cheer. Think of the whole story this way – they really didn't know what would happen to them. They knew that a walk into the kingdom's hottest furnace was not just another stroll through the park. They did not know what God would do, but they trusted His decisions and His care. The second interpretation is really the better way to look at this famous story because here we see that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have a real kind of faith. They do not pretend to know all of God's ways; their faith does not pretend that nothing bad ever happens to God's children. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know whether their lives would be spared, yet they walked into the furnace, completely faithful to God. They said to Nebuchadnezzar,
(Dan 3:18) But even if (God) does not (save us), we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.
Daniel's three friends had the best kind of faith. Though they could not know what their God was going to do, or whether they would burn in the flames, they continued to have the faith to serve and worship the one only true God. It is pretty obvious that Daniel's three friends knew God and had a living relationship with Him. Because of this they dared to stand up for Jesus even when every other knee and head bowed down. Because of this they believed that their almighty God was more than able to save them from the flames, whether or not He chose to do so. Their confidence was not in Nebuchadnezzar, in their public offices, or in themselves. It rested, instead, in God. Because of this they sought first the kingdom and its righteousness. In the story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were saved from the flames. That does not mean, however, that no harm will ever come to us, or that God will always spare us hardship. We do know that God does permit terrible things to happen in the lives of His children. Sometimes bad things occur, like the death of a precious child, a fire, a bankruptcy, a debilitating disease, a divorce, a baby born with a disability, or a family fight. The Bible tells us that we must prepare ourselves for the very opposite of a safe and secure existence! Christ warned that we will be hated, just as He was hated (Luke 21:17). We need to realize that throughout history there has always been some kind of furnace prepared for the church. Believers have always been subjected to fiery trials. As we face the trials that God permits in our lives we are challenged to have the kind of faith that Daniel's three friends had. We are to have a faith that continues to do right even if it costs us our lives.
During China's Boxer Rebellion of 1900, insurgents captured a mission station, blocked all the gates but one, and in front of that one gate placed a cross flat on the ground. Then the word was passed to those inside that any who trampled the cross underfoot would be permitted their freedom and life, but that any refusing would be shot. Terribly frightened, the first seven students trampled the cross under their feet and were allowed to go free. But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to commit the sacrilegious act. Kneeling beside the cross in prayer for strength, she arose and moved carefully around the cross, and went out to face the firing squad. Strengthened by her example, every one of the remaining ninety-two students followed her to the firing squad.

In Christ, the Solid Rock,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMtxD7N9ks