~A Blazing Furnace~
Daniel: 3:13-19
What will we do when the temptation to compromise our faith stands before us? Will we conform to others ways of doing things even though it clearly disobeys the will of God, or will we set the standards of personal Holiness. Will we imitate those that do not know Him to please them or will our behavior, and our character line up with Christ's teachings and likeness. In identifying ourselves with Christ's life and work we are living as an heir and adopted child of God.. We are living a gospel-centered life in which we are abiding in Christ and showing forth His rulership and authority over our life rather than bowing down to idols, and foreign commands of people who put barriers before us to live a holy life sanctified and set apart for Christ.
We are to submit to God and trust Him in faith when we are faced with temptations to acknowledge other gods. There are some who will be watching you trying to get you to conform to their way of thinking and in this case of Daniel and his friends being thrown in the furnace, it was the onlookers and the officials who noticed what the others were not doing. It was not the King himself, for he really cared for Daniel. Others will be motivated by envy to destroy your faith and trust in God discouraging your from completing your destiny. Even though these men in the furnace were certain of God delivering them, it did not depend on that, but on the certainty of their conviction in their Faith an trust. Most would perish in this situation for who wants to get thrown into a blazing furnace. We do not so easily trust when we are tried and thrown into various fiery situations, most of us start moving into doubt and want out quickly! Doubt and worry are sin and so cause us to be weakend in our faith.
In most cases we will not have to defend our belief in our God to save us for He stands with us and before us fighting our battles. He is our sun and shield and will certainly deliver us. Even if He chooses to not take us out, but take us through we need only to submit to His authority, to His commands and be obedient to what He has told us to do. We do not change like shifting sand, or whatever feels good at the moment. In Isaiah 26:3 it says, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock". Our Lord will smooth out the path before us and will bring down other idols to dust. What will you do if you are suddenly thrown into a "high pressured" situtation, will you give in and bow down to the idol before you, or will you depend on the Christ who is able to deliver you and, "if not", will you still trust and obey?
God does have the power to save everyone from the death of flames, but many times He dosen't. Many times God allow His people to demonstrate their love for Him by giving up their lives. But He saves them from a greater danger - eternal hell! We must be willing to die rather than serve or worship any God except our own. Even Daniel's King Nebuchadnezzar praised the God of Daniel for rescuing His servants. What a testimony that was and is for us when we stand in the face of death and defy all those who wish for us to bow down to their ways of doing and thinking and living. We cannot compromise our Faith but must be fully committed to our God. Daniel had been promoted to prime minister and sat at the gate of the King, (gate meaning "the door to the king". He still was put into a fiery furnace with his friends. When God promotes you to sit "at the gate of the King" will you still be able to be tried in the furnace? You may not know how God will deliver, sometimes it may be the very opposite of what you think, but dead or alive - you will certainly know that you are God's!
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