I started reading the book of Daniel today.
[Here’s a quick rundown leading up to Daniel chapter 3:
Babylon, lead by King Nebuchadnezzar, has invaded Judah and taken some of it’s people captive, among them Daniel and three of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. God helps Daniel correctly interpret a dream, and this earns him favor from the king; so now him and his three friends (at Daniel’s request) have obtained higher positions in the king’s court.]

Daniel 3:13-30 (titled “The Blazing Furnace”) plays out like this:
King Nebuchadnezzar makes a gold statue and demands that everyone bow before it and worship it whenever they hear some music being played. Music starts, everyone bows, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to. They will bow to no one except their God- the one true God. Someone tattles to King Nebuchadnezzar and he’s livid. He gives them one more chance, and says if they refuse they’ll “immediately be throw into a blazing furnace”. “Then”, he says, “what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

The men replied “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves to you! If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
(Oh to have the kind of courage!)

Nebuchadnezzar is ticked, and commands that not only are they to be thrown into the furnace, but the furnace is to be heated *seven* times hotter than usual. He then orders some of his strongest men to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednago, and then throw them in. “So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.”

Nebuchadnezzar jumps up, amazed, and says to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up the three men and throw them in?” They assure him that they did.
“Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”
The king gets as close as he can to the door of the furnace and calls to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

The three men step out. Everyone crowds around them and sees that “the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!”

The king then praises the God of these three men, saying “Praise to the God of Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego. He sent his angel to rescue His servants who trusted in Him.” And then goes on to make a decree that if *anyone* speaks a word against the God of these men… well, let’s just say it won’t go well for them. He ends with promoting the three men and then proclaims, “There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

I want to share with you what the commentary in my Bible says regarding the passage of Daniel 3:27:
“These young men had been completely untouched by the fire. Apparently, only the rope that bound them had been burned.
NOTHING CAN BIND US IF GOD WANTS US TO BE FREE!
The same power that delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, AND raised Christ from the dead, is available to US, TOO! (Ephesians 1:18-20). Trust God in every situation. There are eternal reasons for temporary trials, so be thankful that your future is in God’s hands and not human hands. And remember that miracles still occur today. Too often we dismiss God’s work in our lives as coincidence or we give credit to the ingenuity of human minds.”

My Bible study also pointed out the connection to Isaiah 43:2 (one of my personal favs), which says,
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

Proverb 17:3 says, “In the same way that gold and silver are refined by fire, the LORD purifies your heart by the tests and trials of life.”

And Romans 8:28 (another personal fav) says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

So what’s the takeaway from all of this?

In life, we’re going to have troubles, and trials, and sorrows, and hard times. But through it ALL, He’s *always* with us.
Some troubles will test us. Some will act as a “strainer”- will cause the yuck in us to be brought to the surface so we can deal with it and remove it, and in turn help us become better people.

I won’t for a second pretend like going through the fire is easy. But I do believe, with my whole heart, that He means what He says about how He’ll use it all for my good.
Looking back, there are many difficult things I’ve gone through that I still struggle to see the “why” in. But there are also countless others that after coming through to the other side, I can see how they’ve brought me closer to Him- made me a better person- humbled me- made me more reliant on God and HIS strength.

If life is hard right now, please, hang on.
Lean in to The ever present rescuer- to the One who will *never* leave you. To the one who has the *authority* and the *power* to break ANYTHING that is trying to bind you up or tear you down.
“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” John 8:36

All my love ❤

& P.S
[If you don’t know this Rescuer but you want to, I’m no expert- but I know Him- and I’ve never believed in anything so surely in my life. Let’s chat <3]