Nearly all of us will go through things in our lives that have the potential of destroying us but they don’t. We survive, we move on, we grow stronger. What’s more those intense times help create a quality of endurance in us that can help with the everyday stresses of life.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
In the Bible there’s a story about three Hebrews who had been captured, and along with several thousand other Jews, relocated to Babylon. But these three found favor with King Nebuchadnezzar and were given places of responsibility in the Babylonian court.
One day the King decided everyone should worship a big statue he made of himself. Being Jews, they refused. The penalty for that was to be tossed into a smelting furnace used to melt metals. The king gave them three chances to renege and they still refused.
So, he threw them into the furnace. But the only thing that burned were the ropes that bound them, and when the king looked into the furnace, he saw a fourth figure who looked like “the son of God.”
Well, the king had them brought out of the furnace and he proceeded to give them even more important jobs. It’s a great victory. And that’s where the story ends. But I like to think a little beyond the story.
In my mind, I can see the three of them sitting around the palace. Shadrach says, “I don’t know what I’m going to do. The Satraps in the north need grain. But the farmers in the south want more gold than they are willing to pay. And the King says I have to work this out, and I don’t know how…”
And Meshach leans over and says, “Hey Shad, remember the fire?”
When God has met us in a special way, we need to remember that at other times when we are maybe a little less clear about His presence in our lives. We’ve all been through the fire in one way or another, and the Lord brought us through. So when you’re tempted to doubt Him, remember the fire and keep on believing.
We continue to believe that together, you can get us to goal. If you haven’t given yet, won’t you join those have? The list is growing. We can do this. We’re on the backside of the mountain.
Remember the fire, and remember us!
John, Hampton, New Hampshire
Rebecca, Cullman, Alabama
Jimmy & Olivia, Hong Kong
Evangelos
Theresa, Gilbert, Arizona
Cynthia, Harlingen, Texas
John, Coralville, Iowa
Andy
Daryl
Lyn
Marge, Lansing, Michigan
Joe, Sugar Land, Texas
Nancy
Darrell, Nevada, Iowa
Sara, Hopedale, Massachusetts
Darin, Cozad, Nebraska
John, Hawthorn, Australia
Michael, Dayton, Texas
David, Lakeville, Minnesota
Neil, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
David, Liberty Lake, Washington
Roger, Whittier, California
Michael, Sacramento, California
Keith, Berea, Kentucky
Ruth, Artesia, California
Lynn
Susan
Sharyn
John
Sharon, Jackson, Mississippi
Lisa
Robert, Nashville, Tennessee
Paul, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Kent, Bryan, Ohio
Lewis
Drew, Vancouver, Canada
Keith, Portland, Oregon
John, Chicago, Illinois
George, Barefoot Bay, Florida
Markus, Köln, Germany
Christopher, Edwardsville, Illinois
Lynn, Duluth, Minnesota
Garry, Ozark, Arkansas
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