Have you ever felt like you were put into a situation where you were thrown into the fire? You weren’t ready for it but you had no other option but to walk through the fire and face whatever situation was in front of you? Did such an experience make you question your relationship with God or cement your faith in God? Did you come out of that situation scathed by the fire or without harm because you trusted in God?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three men in the bible that were literally thrown into the fire because of their belief in the one true God. King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a golden statue and commanded all in his kingdom to bow down to it and worship it. It was also decreed that whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. It was brought to the king’s attention that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not serve his gods or worship the image of gold that he had set up.
The king summoned them to stand in front of him and asked them why they did no do as he has ordered and that the punishment for their disobedience was that they were to be thrown into the fire. In Daniel 3:16-18 it says “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Furious with their reply the king ordered the furnace to be seven times hotter than usual and it was so hot that even the soldiers who were trying to throw them into the furnace were burnt alive when they came close to it. What we see next is God’s miraculous deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery pit. The king noticed that there was a fourth person in the fire with them and they were walking around unharmed in the fire. The king asked them to come out of the fire and everyone was amazed when not even a single hair on their bodies was harmed.
Daniel 3:28-29 says “Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
What an amazing story of how God used a dire situation in the life of three people not just to deliver them from the fire but also to bring glory to God himself. God completely used his divine intervention to completely turn the situation around on its head from people being in danger of worshipping him to people being in danger of even saying anything against the one true God. Here is the even more amazing thing the God that saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery pit is the same God that can deliver anyone of us from any fire that we find ourselves in today.
Isaiah 43:2 says “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” This is exactly what God did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and what he can do for you. No situation is too big for our God to deliver us from. He walks with us in the fire and delivers us and when we come out of the fire God will receive the praise and we will be amazed at what he has done. Walking through fire is what makes Christians stronger. The harder the situation, the more we know that God is with us. Through every fiery situation always remember that God is right there just like he was the fourth person in the fire for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the bible!