He Can, He Will, and if not.....
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:24-25 ESV)
I love this passage for several reasons. First, it lets us know that God is always with us, no matter where we are or what we face in our lives. He lives in us and walks with us. God knows our struggles, challenges, heartbreaks, joys, doubts, and fears. God is never far from us.
Secondly, God controls everything. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into this furnace with the faith that God would protect them. The words they spoke are so crucial for today's Christians to remember, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (v16-18).
You received a bad report from the doctor; it is cancer. A family member sustains a life-threatening injury, whatever the challenge may be, the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are critical for us to remember. God can save us, God will save us, and even if he does not, God is still God. We will still trust in him, have faith in him, worship him, and above all, glorify him out of our love and satisfaction in him for restoring us from sin.
A life-ending event is devastating for a family. It is devastating because we will miss the person we love. It is a well-deserved but selfish devastation because we will mourn what we can no longer enjoy. For Christians whose lives are in jeopardy, it is a win-win situation. If God heals us, we will remain with our family a bit longer. If God chooses to bring us to him, whatever sufferings we had are then replaced with everlasting joy as we stand in the glory of God. Christians cannot lose anything when the thing they desire most is God.
Grace and Peace!
Nebuchadnezzar Is humbled by God and becomes aware of tho goodness and mercy of God as in the book of
(Daniel 3:29. After God delivers the three friends--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--from the fiery furnace, it seems that Nebuchadnezzar has his first major realization. The friends refused to bend or bow, and the king was enraged. So he heated the furnace seven times hotter and threw them in. At that moment, Nebuchadnezzar witnessed God show up. He was amazed. There was a fourth man in the fire--someone like a son of the gods (Daniel 3:25). The king inspected the men and discovered the fire hadn't touched them. They didn't even smell like smoke! So he immediately issued another decree. Once again…